


The Fate of Stars

by rahelawriter



Series: Scions of the Seven Lights [1]
Category: Final Fantasy, Final Fantasy XIV, Kingdom Hearts
Genre: (but not really), Attempted Friendship, Attempted Kidnapping, Babysitting, Background Plot, Bad Decisions, Betrayal, Between Seasons/Series, Books, Canon Compliant, Chases, Clumsiness, Computers, Cute Kids, Eavesdropping, Feelings, Friendship, Gen, Guards, Hiking, Hollow Bastion, Hugs, Human Experimentation, Ice Cream, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Jealousy, Librarians, Libraries, Loss of Parent(s), Mountaineering, Multi, Other, Post-Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep, Pre-Canon, Pre-Kingdom Hearts I, Radiant Garden, Rivalry, Rivers, Sarcasm, Shooting Stars, Spaceships, Swords, Talking, UFOs, Xehanort Ruins Everything, expeditions, good parents, meteor showers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2018-04-29
Packaged: 2018-12-20 14:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 24,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11923284
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rahelawriter/pseuds/rahelawriter
Summary: “The stars have been blinking out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind.”The darkness is relentless; it extinguishes and swallows everything and everyone in its path. Hardly any can escape it, and those that do will never be the same.[On hiatus until KH3]





	1. Before the Fall: Radiant Garden (Part One)

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first chapter in a long series I'm planning. It's partly a general Kingdom Hearts story, but told from the points of view of various characters crossed over from Final Fantasy XIV. I really mean to commit to this one; it's a large-scale story, and it'll partly be me providing my own answers to a great many of the questions I have about the wide, amazing universe of Kingdom Hearts. I hope you enjoy this little toe-dip into what I've got in store.

Radiant Garden, the city of light. As the name stated, colorful flowers and vibrant plant life could be found everywhere in sight; even where there wasn’t any kind of vegetation, the streets were paved with beautiful floral mosaics or fountains freely spurting pure, fresh water, and that was just what was within the city walls. Beyond that lie vast, untouched verdant mountain ranges that seemed to stretch on towards forever. Truly a blessed world, dearly beloved by her people and her ruler alike.

Two girls could be seen together along the outer gardens, near the bridge out of the city. One of them, roughly twelve years old, sat on a bench, wearing a yellow dress and black tights, her blonde hair in a braid under a matching glengarry hat. She was babysitting the other girl: a bright-eyed four-year-old redhead in a white and pink dress, who was kneeling down by the flowerbed carefully and thoughtfully examining each and every bloom, as if searching for one in particular.

Finally the little girl called over to her babysitter, “Ascilia? What's your mommy’s favorite flower?”

After the few seconds it took to recall the name, Ascilia answered, “Celsettia Cosmos, I think.” When the redhead gave her a confused look, Ascilia clarified, “Those are the white ones with the six petals.”

The younger one nodded, and knelt back down, plucking the flowers from the garden. Once she had gathered what she felt was enough, she hurried back to the bench to sit with Ascilia. She happily declared while holding her bundle, “There. I'm gonna make a bouquet for Missus Lhaminn!”

Ascilia blinked in surprise; a bouquet for her mother? “Really? That’s very sweet of you, Kairi, but may I ask why?”

“She was looking kinda sad when I went to your house earlier. So I wanted to cheer her up.”

“Oh, you noticed?” Kairi nodded, and Ascilia sighed. She and her mother, and many other townsfolk had been in low spirits lately, and likely all for the same reason; it was silly to expect the perceptive young girl to not notice. “Mama’s just sad because Papa volunteered to participate in some kind of experiment down at the castle, and he was supposed to be back by now. So she’s worried. I’m not sure what they’re doing, but it must be important if he and the other volunteers are being kept for so long. It’s been nearly a week…”

“Are you worried too?”

Ascilia shrugged. “I mean, King Ansem and his apprentices are handling it, so I don’t think anything’s gone wrong. But, yeah, I am kind of worried…”

Kairi remained thoughtful, then offered up the freshly-picked flowers. “Do you want a bouquet too?”

Ascilia smiled, and ruffled the child’s hair. “Thank you, Kairi, but I don't need that many. Just one would be fine.”

“Okie dokie!” Kairi reached up and stuck a single cosmos behind the yellow bow that decorated Ascilia’s hat, and the older girl couldn’t help but beam with fondness for her sunny little friend.

Taking Kairi’s hand, Ascilia stood up and said, “Come on, let's go find a ribbon for your bouquet. Missus Elmyra’s shop should have some. And Aerith can help us pick out the perfect one!”

“Yay!”

 

On this day, there was not a single cloud to be seen in the violet sky. And a great many children were out playing. The blond, stern-faced middle-aged man in a long white coat and a red scarf passing by the courtyard found that he knew many of their names. A rambunctious girl leading a frowning boy somewhere by the hand and a dog happily prancing after them, Rinoa, Squall, and Angelo. A short-haired girl of about seven trying to scale the castle gate, an older girl trying to get her to come down, while a blond boy only looked on in vague amusement, he knew them to be Yuffie, Tifa, and Cloud. A pair of teenagers in a hot, albeit one-sided debate, Lea and Isa. Radiant Garden was a small kingdom, and so the man sought to be personable and approachable for each and every denizen. So he knew many of them on a first-name-basis. And that only heightened his desire to protect the happiness and light of this world he so dearly loved. But on days like this, he felt as though that desire had been twisted by forces he should have foreseen, and the news he bore as a result would only bring sorrow.

And so it was with a heavy heart that Radiant Garden’s ruler, Ansem the Wise, followed by a small entourage of two members of the Radiant Guardians, visiting the houses of several citizens and delivering those grave tidings to them. Next was the home of a man named Warburton Warde; he had to speak with the man’s wife, Lhaminn, and his daughter, Ascilia. He dreaded every step he grew closer to the house, but it had to be done. Just a knock on the door, and…

“Coming!” A lovely voice called out, and a moment later, its owner answered: a short, bespectacled, light-haired lady in her early thirties opened the door, her brown eyes widening with surprise upon seeing her visitor. “Your Majesty!” Lhaminn stammered, “Sorry, hello, I mean, I wasn't expecting--!”

Ansem raised his hand and shook his head. “No, no, it's quite alright,” he said, sounding more weary than he meant to. “May I come in, madam?”

“Oh, yes, by all means, make yourself at home!” She stepped aside, allowing room for the king and his guards to enter the tiny house. A humble living space, but comfortable enough. He took a seat on the armchair beside the hearth, his two guards choosing to remain standing on either side of him. “Pardon the mess, you caught me right when I was in the middle of cleaning up.”

“It’s no trouble at all. Is your daughter home as well?”

“Ascilia? She’s out babysitting a neighbor’s granddaughter.” Lhaminn took her seat on the couch opposite him. She looked nervous, biting her lip, but she finally asked, albeit haltingly, “Is this about Warburton? Where is he? Is he alright?”

The king sighed. He knew she feared the worst, and the last thing he wanted to do was confirm them, but alas, he had to. “Warburton… It pains me to say that he is gone.”

She hid her reaction as best as she could. But the signs were there: trembling hands, unsteady breathing, swallowing hard. And when she spoke again, her voice was barely audible. “... I-I see. Could you, ahem, tell me, what happened…?”

Ansem had repeated the same words to countless people throughout the day, but no matter how many times, it never got easier. “How much did he tell you about the experiment he was volunteering for?”

Lhaminn shook her head, wiping away the tears in her eyes before they could spill out. “Hardly anything…” She cleared her throat. “He, he just said that you and your apprentices were conducting some psychological tests, that he’d be back in two days at the longest. I had my suspicions, but I never thought...”

“Warburton was aware of the risks; he likely did not want you to worry. The psychological tests were studies into the human heart; not the physical kind, but more the metaphysical. Diving into a person’s heart, and studying the darkness within, trying to understand what caused it, how it affects its owner... But an accident occurred during the experiments: the volunteers’ hearts went haywire at such deep probing, and eventually suffered collapse. We did all we could, but there was no saving Warburton or the others.”

“I… I see.” Lhaminn choked out; doubtless she was still reeling from the shock, so Ansem wouldn't dare trouble her further with any more excruciating details of just how her husband died. But then she asked, “Can you return him to us?”

The king shook his head grimly. “There is nothing left of him to return. Death of the heart differs from a death of the body, and Warburton suffered the former...”

“You can’t return him…?”

None of the adults in the room noticed the sound of the door opening, but they all whirled around towards the door when they heard the child’s voice; Warburton’s daughter Ascilia, her expression blank. Kairi stood behind her, clutching a bouquet of cosmos, tied together with a little pink ribbon, nervously looking up at her friend.

“A-Ascilia!” Lhaminn recoiled in horror, “How much did you hear?”

The girl trembled, keeping her head bowed. She didn't answer her mother, continuing to address Ansem. “Papa’s dead? You couldn’t save him, or any of the other volunteers?”

He was hit with a fresh pang of guilt, slowly shaking his head. “… I am afraid not, my child. Our attempts at treatment produced no sign of recovery. I can offer nothing but my most humble apologies, but should you or your mother require any aid, you need only ask.”

Ascilia said nothing for a long moment, still hiding her face, her trembling hands balling into fists. And when she spoke again, her volume slowly escalated from dangerously low to dangerously loud. “… Liar. You’re supposed to be a sage. You’re our king! How could you let this happen?!”

With hot tears of anger in her eyes, the girl lunged forward and grabbed Ansem by his red scarf, yelling in his face, “What were these experiments for, anyway? What was so important that it was worth so many people dying?! Why didn’t you stop it the second things started going wrong? You’re supposed to be our all-knowing ruler, how could you not save even one person?! I don't believe you!  _ Give me back my father! _ ”

Of course, the two guards at Ansem’s side couldn't let anyone put their hands on their king. As gently as possible, they separated the two. The taller guard, a muscular woman with her silvery hair worn in a sidecut, pulled Ascilia away, holding on tight despite the smaller girl’s angry shouts and kicks. “E-easy now, lass,” she attempted to soothe, “You have every reason to be upset, but you can’t--!”

“GIVE HIM BACK!” She howled, trying in vain to thrash herself free. The yelling continued until--

“Ascilia, that’s  _ enough! _ ” Lhaminn thundered, shocking her daughter into silence. She stopped struggling, her knees giving out from under her.

Little Kairi, who had been watching in nervous silence from the doorway, tentatively stepped closer, was barely audible when she asked, “Ascilia? Are you okay…?”

When no response came, Ansem made another attempt to console her. “My dear child, there's--”

But she wouldn't hear any of his platitudes. With one last shout, “You’re all useless! Leave me alone!” Ascilia wrenched her arms from the guardswoman’s grasp, sprinting out of the house and down the street, out of view. Kairi hurried off after her, dropping her bouquet of cosmos on the floor, calling for Ascilia to come back. 

Watching all of this, Lhaminn could no longer hold back her tears, collapsing back onto the armchair, face buried in her hand. Between sobs, she managed to choke out, “I'm, I'm so sorry, Your Majesty, I--”

“No… No, she’s right.” Ansem adjusted his scarf, his expression heavy. “I deserved every word. I should have foreseen that undertaking these experiments would be a grave mistake, and that my people would pay the price…”

“I-I know you did all that you could for him. I can be grateful for that much…”

“And I mean to do all I can for you now.” Ansem stood up and lay a comforting hand on the grieving woman's shoulder. “I pledge to provide any support I possibly can during these trying times. Should you or your daughter need anything at all, be it munny, food, protection, or counsel, you have but to ask.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty… I just hope it won't be necessary…”

The shorter guard who had been in uneasy silence so far, a woman with her dark hair tied in a messy bun, asked Lhaminn. “Ma’am, do you need any help looking for your daughter? It’s not our business, but…”

“No, I'll go look myself, I just…” The mother rubbed the tears out of her eyes, and took a deep breath, only to tremor with another involuntary sob. “I-I need a moment…”

The shorter guard nodded and gave Lhaminn a somber salute. “Understood. As Lord Ansem said, no words could express the depth of our sympathies. Take care, ma’am.” 

Ansem announced to his two escorts, “Crowe, Moenbryda, we’re leaving.”

Out they went, leaving Lhaminn to do whatever she saw fit to do with the sorrowful news.

 

“Poor kid…” The guard named Moenbryda murmured once they were out the door.

The other, Crowe, nodded sadly in agreement. “Losing someone that important to you so suddenly…” She rubbed at her tired eyes and sighed, “Ugh, that's how it's been with everyone today. It's awful.”

Moenbryda’s voice went low. “Still, it's hard to believe this happened at all. I never thought the King could make such a mistake directing the others…”

Of course, Ansem could hear them conversing, but he said nothing. If they thought less of him, so be it. Even though he was widely known as a sage, he could not decide if this path was the best to take. It truly pained Ansem to lie to his beloved subjects and to see them suffer such grief, but the truth was far crueler; the experiments that claimed Warburtons’s and the other victims’ lives were, in reality, conducted by his apprentices without his knowledge. He did begin the research into darkness of the heart, but with far simpler psychological tests, performed only upon a single volunteer, his apprentice Xehanort, studying his heart and perhaps try to unlock the memories hidden within. He was left completely unharmed, and seemingly unchanged… It was all done to size up the power of the darkness of humans’ hearts, to see if it could pose a threat to the kingdom’s safety. But after careful consideration, Ansem came to the conclusion that any further probing into the heart would be too dangerous for the subjects, and thus ended the project. But that evidently that wasn’t good enough for his six apprentices, who then proceeded to take his work to a deadly level. They lured volunteers into the castle’s laboratory, claiming to have the Sage-King’s blessing and supervision, and then conducted inhumane experiments upon them: attempting to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self. But it only caused them intense pain, and even the most stalwart hearts spasmed out of control and eventually collapsed, leaving their bodies in an irreversible vegetative state. Ansem was of course horrified and infuriated when he learned of what they had done, immediately putting a stop to the experiments and placing the guilty parties under surveillance.

His own six apprentices.

Braig, Dilan, and Aeleus had gathered innocents like Warburton and escorted them to the castle, while Xehanort and Even (along with a number of scientists under their leadership) carried out the experiments, with little Ienzo observing and recording data. Xehanort stepped forward and claimed responsibility, saying that he deceived the others into believing that the experiments were permitted, and that he did not intend for any lives to be lost… Still reeling from the shock of learning all this, Ansem had feared that letting the populace know of his apprentices’ deception would only breed more unhappiness and anger… So he would publicly take responsibility for the experiments, letting the bereaved families think this was all a tragic accident. The tongue-lashing he received from the girl stung him to the core, but he deserved as much;  _ ‘I remain the most foolish of all, for having begun these experiments. _ ’ The most he could do was try to compensate their loss as best as could be done…

… And to severely punish his disciples for committing such a depraved act and causing all this heartache.

-

The golden afternoon sun shone through the ornately beveled windows, casting a heavenly glow over the entire library. Its keeper was a tall man adorned in elegant, flowing robes, tailored after the kind worn by the Foretellers of eld. The robed man sat at the table underneath the staircase, basking in the light and savoring the silence. Not a sound could be heard within it save for his occasionally turning the pages of the book on his desk. He tucked a strand of silvery hair behind one of his pointed ears as his amber eyes scanned page after page. Here, in total silence, he was in his element. Here, studying the tomes of the seven Bygone Seers, keepers of preapocalyptic knowledge: Azal, Hafet, Khama, Mava, Nahara, Salegg, and Theon… 

So engrossed was he in tales of the past that he failed to notice the ominous footfalls sneaking up behind him until it was too late.

“U-ri-an-geeeer!”

He flinched at the loud, but all-too-familiar voice behind him, before a pair of powerful arms wrapped around his torso, lifted him right off of his chair, and squeezed him hard enough to force the air out of his lungs. 

“Gghk…” He wheezed out, weakly patting her arm, “H-hello, Moenbryda…”

The giant of a woman held on tight to her friend a few moments longer before finally setting him down, loosening her tight grip but not letting go completely. She nuzzled her forehead into his shoulder, and muttered without looking up, “Long day. Need a hug.”

Immediately realizing that his dear friend needed comfort, Urianger obliged her request and returned her hug. “Do you wish to talk about it?”

Moenbryda separated from the hug, and slumped down into a chair, rubbing her eyes. Urianger noticed only now that her face was flush with dried tears. “Crowe and I just got back from accompanying the King around town.”

“What happened?”

“His Majesty had to tell all the families of the heart experiment victims what happened. All twenty of them. And, well. It wasn’t pretty. Lots of tears. I kept it together as best I could, but it's hard not to get misty-eyed yourself…”

At once Urianger understood, shaking his head with a sigh. “Such a tragedy Radiant Garden has not faced in living memory. I pray the Sage-King is able to mend the rift this shall surely cause with the citizenry.”

Moenbryda gave a solemn nod. “He's already working on that. He's taking most of the responsibility since he was the one who was directing it all, but it was the apprentices who didn't stop when things were going wrong. They're all under house arrest. And they're all forbidden from entering the labs until further notice.” The two sat in heavy silence, until Moenbryda had the briefest twitch of a smile at the corner of her mouth. “In short, your brother is in big trouble.”

Urianger buried his brow in a palm, sighing in exasperation. “Oh, for the love of-- Xehanort is  _ not  _ my brother! We may have similar physical characteristics, but that does not in any way make us related!”

Now Moenbryda was openly smiling. Ruffling the librarian's feathers was always a surefire way to cheer her up. “So the hair and the eyes and the skin tone and the pointy ears, they’re  _ all _ just a coincidence?”

“My ears are like this naturally!”

“Riiight. Have you seen Xehanort today, by the way?”

“I am not his brother, nor am I his keeper.” With what could almost be described as a ‘huff,’ Urianger returned to his book, only glancing back up for one final comment. “Moreover, Xehanort and the other apprentices are under the surveillance of the Radiant Guardians, so you ought to already know who has been assigned to watch him.”

“--Oh, uh, right. Let me think a second, that was, uh…” Moenbryda strained her mind, recalling the assignments from that morning. She remembered that even though she usually didn’t mind accompanying King Ansem, she was dreading it today, and she’d mostly been focusing on that at the time, so she wasn’t completely paying attention to everyone else. But she did remember feeling relieved when her partner for the day turned out to be-- ‘ _ Crowe, that’s it! The one assigned to watch Xehanort was a friend of Crowe! _ ’ “Got it!”

The librarian didn’t bother looking up. “I take it by your jubilant exclamation that you have remembered?”

“Yeah, his name’s Libertus. Let’s go look for him!”

“Excuse me, ‘let us’? I must stay here, it is my sacred duty as a keeper of knowledge to--”

“Oh no, you’re not getting out this time! You’ve cooped yourself up in this library too long. Listen to yourself, you’re talking like a grandpa!” Not taking no for an answer, Moenbryda effortlessly scooped Urianger out of his chair and slung him over her shoulder, bounding out of the library. “Come on, let’s go find your brother!”

“FOR THE LAST TIME, HE IS NOT MY BROTHER!”

 

Urianger eventually had to be set back down, but he kept to Moenbryda’s side as they wandered the castle Hollow Bastion in their search. Several rooms and lift stops later, there still showed no signs of either of their men until they reached the Grand Hall. 

And the first thing to catch their sight was a hefty man in the black uniform of the Radiant Guardians, shuffling toward the towering staircase that rose from behind a pair of half-partitions, pressing his hand along the wall as he went. No sign of the researcher he was supposed to be watching. The two entrants only watched for a few seconds before Moenbryda called out, “Libertus, what are you doing?”

Libertus jumped in surprise and looked all around the room, apparently not seeing the two at the door. “Oh, finally, someone came to help! But where are you?”

And just as Moenbryda was about to give an incredulous response, Libertus turned to face her, and she saw. His eyes… There was an inky blackness swirling inside them. “L-Libertus, what happened…?”

As unsettling as the sight was, Libertus didn’t seem to be in any pain as Urianger and Moenbryda moved to his side. The scholar set about checking him for injuries or ill effects, while the Guardian listened to him recount his story. “About ten minutes ago, I was just taking Xehanort up to the Grand Hall, we were almost on the steps, when suddenly, everything goes black! I couldn't see a thing… The last thing I remember before that was seeing something scuttle by, like a, I dunno. I didn’t get a good look, but my best guess is a really enormous bug. Scared the honk outta me.”

“… A bug?”

“It was way bigger than any bug has any right to be! Like, calf-height!”

“Fine, fine. What happened next?”

“Like I said, I couldn’t see. How did you get here, anyway? I thought the lift stops quit working during blackouts.”

“There’s no blackout, Libertus. I can see you and the rest of the room just fine.”

“… Okay, that makes things twenty times freakier.”

Urianger, however, had finished his diagnosis and had pulled out a spellcaster’s grimoire that had been tucked into his sash. “Worry not, Sir Ostium, this blindness is merely a spell. Allow me.  _ Esuna. _ ”

Within an instant, a flickering light drew the blackness from Libertus’ eyes, and he blinked a few times to refocus his vision. And immediately he went to shake Urianger’s hand, visibly relieved. “Phew… Thanks, buddy.”

However, a worrying thought passed Moenbryda’s mind. There was only one person in her mind who could have cast the Blinding spell, but she didn’t want to jump to conclusions. “Libertus, where’s Xehanort?”

“I heard him running off right when my eyes went dark. Best case scenario, it was that black ant thing that blinded me and he went chasing after it. But worst case--”

“No need to go on, sir. Your first theory was correct.” A new voice came from the top of the staircase, and all present looked up to see the second man they’d been looking for: Xehanort strode down the steps, his labcoat and purple cravat fluttering, and his lips turned up in an unassuming smile. “I must apologize for the worry I caused, Master Libertus. It is as you say, that creature hampered your vision and ran off, so I gave chase. But it eluded me as well after disappearing into a wall.”

“Oh, just great,” Libertus groused, waving his hand dismissively. “Now that thing’s loose and I'll probably get blamed for it. Ugh, they shoulda got the Hero to keep an eye on the weirdo…”

Whether or not Xehanort heard that last comment, Moenbryda couldn't tell. The researcher’s tone remained even as he asked, “Are you quite recovered from your ordeal, Master Libertus?”

“The sooner we catch that freaky thing, the better, but yeah. Kinda shook still, but I'll be fine.”

Despite having been the one to give chase to the creature, Xehanort didn’t seem too concerned. “Then in that case, with your permission I’d like to go into town.”

“Uh, why?” Libertus asked, scratching his temple. “Do you think it went that way?”

“It’s nothing to do with the creature; I’d only like some fresh air. I haven’t left the castle in days.”

“Yeah, uh. About that. With all due respect, sir, you could just open a window for that. Or stand on one of this castle’s like, ten balconies. Either of those'd be better than going into town. You're kinda, uh, under house arrest.”

“Whatever for? There shouldn't be any trouble as long as you attend me, Master Libertus.”

“W-well, uh…” Libertus now looked rather nervous, evidently imagining all the things that might go wrong if he were to escort Xehanort or any of the researchers into Radiant Garden. And he glanced to his fellow Guardian, eyes pleading for help.

“You do know, don't you?” Moenbryda wasn’t privy to any of the gorey details of the accident, but she knew all too well that he had played a role in the an accident that had plunged twenty people into an irreversible vegetative state, as good as dead. Was he not aware of that…? “The King told the citizens about the experiments, and they’re still reeling from that. One kid even tried to attack him when she found out…”

Without missing a beat, Xehanort glanced back, brow raised and eyes steely. “Your point being?”

He didn’t care. Moenbryda prided herself on being a battle-hardened warrior, but that frigid response chilled her to the bone. Some part of her cursed Ansem for taking in such a freak off the street like a very unsettling stray cat... But despite that, she couldn’t let it show. “Our point, Xehanort, is that it might not be the smartest idea to go out there. Especially today of all days.”

“I see now. You fear an angry mob will rise up and demand the heads of the entire research department?” A hyperbolic version of events, but that more or less summed up their fears. At Moenbryda’s lack of an immediate answer he smirked, and mirthlessly laughed at his own joke. “Ah, the emotional, irrational hearts of humans. Time and again, I seek to understand the heart, and yet my thirst for knowledge seems doomed to endless rejection. Such a shame…”

Involuntarily Moenbryda recalled every crying family she was helpless to comfort, and every urge in her body wanted to scream at him and make him understand all the sorrow he caused. But after all the years he’d known her, Urianger had come to recognize the warning signs that his friend was about to blow her top at the wrong time. Just as she was lunging forward towards Xehanort, the scholar put a firm hand on his shoulder, shaking his head. And just at a glance, she could tell what he was saying with that single concerned look:  _ ‘I understand your anger, but exploding at him will only get you in trouble. _ ’ Only reluctantly did she back down from delivering a satisfying punch to his emotionless face.

“Xehanort. As a fellow man of learning, I would advise you to tread lightly. Whatever your intentions were, the fact remains that the actions of both yourself and your fellow researchers have caused irreversible harm to a great many innocents, and their families may never recover from the loss.” Urianger narrowed his eyes at the younger man; his voice gained a cold, deathly serious warning edge that Moenbryda rarely heard. “No knowledge is worth this tragedy, the sorrow felt here today. That is what the King wishes for you to learn. Therefore it would be best for all involved for you to avoid the public eye.”

Libertus, now adequately backed up on his doubts, shook a pointing finger at Xehanort. “And the King’s covering your bee-hind on this, so you better not do anything that’ll make him regret picking you up off the street. Don’t be the viper to his farmer, you get me?”

Xehanort sighed in defeat and shrugged, “Hmph, very well. Instead of into town, may I be taken up to the roof? Night will fall soon, so I wish to observe the stars.”

Moenbryda wasn't quite willing to let him off the hook yet. “Why stars?”

“Must everything I do come under suspicion now?” His gold eyes narrowed, almost threateningly. “What harm can come from stargazing?”

As much as Moenbryda wanted to argue his point, she couldn’t think of any rebuttal for that. She still wanted to punch him, but… There wasn't much she could say to change his current circumstances or attitude. So she turned to Libertus. “Fine. Libertus, you keep a close watch on him, got it?”

The heavyset Guardian gave a hasty salute as he followed Xehanort on his way toward the lift stop. “Y-yes, ma’am! Wait, why am I saluting, you’re not the captain.”  

Moenbryda took the salute as a compliment as she watched them leave. But just as they were almost out, Urianger spoke up one last time.

“One more moment, Xehanort! In truth, there was… One other matter on which I wish to know your thoughts.”

The researcher turned back, the quirk of his eyebrow being the only thing that might betray a hint of skepticism. “Yes?”

Adjusting his reading glasses with an indignant look, Urianger declared, “Moenbryda seems to have gotten it into her head that due to our similar physical appearances, I must be your elder brother.”

A short beat of silence. Moenbryda pinched the bridge of her nose.

“My… brother?” Xehanort blinked, and then breathed out something that almost sounded like a real, sincere laugh. “Ha, now that you mention it, I do see the resemblance. But no, we’ve no relation.” 

“Thank you.” Urianger straightened the folds of his hood, looking rather vindicated. “That's all I wished to confirm.”

She could only groan, “Urianger, you know I was kidding with that, right?”

“No no, it’s quite alright.” Xehanort chuckled again, and then amusement on his face turned to a wistful smile. “More’s the pity, though; I almost wish that  _ were _ the case. How delightful it would be to find a relative that could clear up the fog that clouds my memories. But, alas.”

Another awkward silence followed. As one final warning Moenbryda saw fit to give Xehanort the ‘I’m watching you’ gesture. He appeared to ignore it, making one final comment before leaving the room with Libertus in tow:

“My thanks for your assistance, Mistress Moenbryda… And you as well, Brother.”

Moenbryda, sadly, could not appreciate the unexpected joke what with Urianger angrily growling and rolling up his sleeve, at which point she had to hold him back. “What was that you just said about  _ treading lightly? _ ”

-

The cold winds chilled her to the bone, but she didn’t care. All Ascilia did was curl up into a tighter ball and stare gloomily out into the distance. She had returned to the outer gardens and perched herself on the mossy retaining wall just a few inches above the lake that surrounded the town. The glassy surface of the water, the rolling hills, the sky growing darker as night fell. She didn’t have to think about anything. Out here, sitting just on the bridge just outside the city gates, she could pretend that nothing was different.

But of course, trying not to think about it only made her think about it more. Without meaning to, she thought back to the last time she saw her father. When she cheerfully saw him off as he went out the door, thinking he would be back in only a day or two. She couldn’t have possibly known… and now he was gone forever. 

She shuddered, and not just because of the cold. Her whole body shook with the occasional sob, and she trembled, desperately trying to keep all the pain and grief out of her head, Just stay numb. Don’t think about her father. Or her mother. Or King Ansem. Or anything…

… Would her heart collapse too if she became too sad?

Light footsteps tiptoed up behind her and Kairi’s voice soon followed. “Ascilia? Are you okay…?”

No, of course she wasn’t okay.  _ Her father just died _ . But she didn’t want take any of her feelings out on Kairi, so she remained silent.

But then, Ascilia felt tiny hands press against her back. At first she thought Kairi was trying to push her, but turning her head back to look, she saw the younger girl’s face scrunched up in concentration, as if willing something to happen.

Normally, she would be able to humor the four-year-old’s antics, but she simply wasn’t in the mood. Ascilia sighed and rubbed the tears from her eyes. “Kairi? What are you doing?”

Kairi concentrated for a few seconds more, but, realizing that she failed to make anything happen, brought her hands down, visibly disappointed. “I guess it didn’t work. Sorry. All I wanted was to pass on the spell…”

“The… spell?”

“Do you remember that nice lady I told you about a few months ago?”

“The one with the blue sword who saved you from those weird monsters?”

“Uh-huh. She and this giant mouse fought them off, then they talked for a minute, then the mouse flew away. And that was when Grandma came to pick me up, and before I left, the lady put a magic spell on me.”

Ascilia had been sick that day, and unable to look after Kairi. She heard her tell the tale that day too, and she grew a bit incredulous at the mention of a giant flying mouse, and it still sounded like a bizarre inclusion now, but she was still willing to listen. “What kind of spell was it?”

Kairi sat down beside Ascilia, staring out into the sky. “It was a spell to keep me safe when I was in trouble. She said it would ‘lead me to the light of another.’”

“Why did she do that, I wonder?”

“I dunno.” Kairi shrugged and pouted. “I mean, it was super-nice of her, but I kinda wish she coulda done it for all my friends and family, too. Since you and your mama are the ones who really need it right now…”

Ascilia was at a loss for words. Against all odds, Kairi had managed to lift her spirits, if only just a little. She managed a tiny half-smile, and hugged the girl to her side. “Aw… Thanks, Kairi. If you really wanna help, just keep being your sweet little self.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. The real trouble is figuring out what Mom and I are going to do now… I probably shouldn't have run away…”

“Probably so.”

Ascilia jumped and looked behind her to see Lhaminn, her eyes still red and face still flushed, but stern. She scrambled to her feet and stepped off the ledge of the garden wall. Unable to bring herself to make eye contact, she cast her gaze down to the ground. “Mom, I'm… I'm sorry for running away. And for screaming at the king.”

Silence hangs in the air for a brief moment.

“... Oh, come here, sweetling.” Lhaminn knelt down and pulled her daughter into a tight hug. “I won't bother with asking if you feel better. I certainly don't. It will probably be a long time before either of us can really say that and mean it...”

Once again, tears prickled the girl’s eyes and dripped out of their own volition. Ascilia hugged back and sobbed into her mother’s shoulder, “I… I miss Papa…”

“I know, I know. And I'm sorry, but…” Lhaminn paused to think. She sighed, and went on, her voice tinted with melancholy. “Losing someone is like that. You have to go on without them, even though you don't want to. For a long time it'll feel like you're going every single day a big, painful hole in your heart, and you don't want to move forward, because that would mean leaving them behind. It's all too easy to get stuck from how much you want them back. But even though you want to return things to the way they were, it can't be done. Nothing's like before, and just when you start to feel like it is, you suddenly remember. You realize you're getting used to them being gone, and that in itself is enough to make you break down all over again… But that's why I'm so glad to have you. That way the loss isn't as lonely. We'll always miss him… But we'll still get by.”

Ascilia listened, and felt another lump rising in her throat. “Promise?”

“Of course I do.” Lhaminn kissed her cheek and stood back up, taking her hand and holding out to the younger girl still sitting on the wall. “It's getting late, Ascilia, Kairi. Do you want to go home?”

The two girls nodded, and all three made their way back into Radiant Garden together just as the first stars became visible overhead.

“I'll get started on some nice hot soup for dinner,” Lhaminn pondered out loud. “It's easy to forget to eat during times like this, but even if you feel empty inside, you'd be surprised by how much it helps to have a warm meal at the end of the day.”

Ascilia wasn't entirely sure what her mother meant, but she did have a vague idea. She didn't have too much of an appetite, but she would rather be warm and sad than just cold and sad. “I… think I get it.”

Kairi then asked, “Missus Lhaminn, did you get my flowers?”

“Yes, Kairi, and thank you for thinking of us. We and some others around town could use some more of that thoughtfulness in the coming days.”

“Right, I'll do my best! I can get Grandma to help too!”

It was times that made Ascilia see Kairi more as a sister than just a girl she would babysit. 

“Hey, look up there!” Kairi cried out in excitement once they reached the Town Square, pointing to the sky. “Look, look! Shooting stars!”

And indeed, up over their heads, the evening lit up with countless shining streaks of light. All three stood and watched, as the town’s children came outside to watch the meteor shower; some were fit to burst with excitement, others more subdued. Ascilia wondered if they received the same news she did today. 

Kairi was naturally part of the excited ones. “Missus Lhaminn, can we stay and watch? Please, can we?”

“Of course.”

A small crowd soon assembled made of both children and adults, sitting down around the square to watch the enthralling celestial event. While her eyes stayed on the skies, Ascilia kept her ears open, catching small bits of conversation.

“Squall, are you seeing this? Look up there! Isn't it amazing?”

“... Whatever.”

“Aww, whatever yourself! Angelo, you like it, don't you, girl?” Quickly followed by a soft ‘woof,’ and another pair of voices.

“Okay, so that didn’t work, but look on the bright side: at least we can watch-- Wait, hey, Isa! Isa, don't ignore me for Angelo!”

“Angelo is nice and quiet, unlike you.”

All were people she knew, children her age. The voices of the adults were more hushed, but Ascilia listened to what she could. 

A burly man in an ill-fitting, shabby Radiant Guardian uniform murmured to the guardswoman next to him with curly brown hair and an eyepatch, “What could this starshower mean? Should we make a wish?”

The guardswoman replied, “Take a closer look. Normal shooting stars don’t make landings. I think this means we'll have to escort some researchers through the mountains somewhere in the near future.”

A third guard joined in; Ascilia recognized the voice as Moenbryda, the larger of the two guardswomen accompanying Ansem that afternoon. “No doubt they'll  _ need _ watching after how they bungled things today. And I saw Xehanort not long ago, he didn’t seem to feel any sort of regret about what he’s done. If he acts like that in front of the King, he’ll  _ really _ be in for it…”

Hearing that, Ascilia felt anger welling up in her heart all over again, gritting her teeth to fight the urge to lash out once more. Lhaminn held her tight, and they remained silent for awhile. Kairi 'Oooohed' and 'Aaaahed' and watched the stars in amazement until she grew sleepy.

“His heart is part of the sky now…” Lhaminn was barely audible, talking more to herself as her gaze was transfixed upon the starshower. “... I'll miss you, Warburton.”

That much was a comforting thought. So Ascilia breathed deeply and kept her gaze fixed on the sky. With all the glittering, shooting stars, she wondered what they were. Some of them rocketed further, several streaks of light going until they reached the horizon. More and more stars kept falling, until the meteor shower came to an end and the remaining stars stayed still. Ascilia idly wondered why some stars fell and others didn't. She wondered if someone very far away, like her father, could have seen the meteor shower as well. She wondered what stars really were.

It happened too fast for her to be sure, but she noticed one stationary star flickering bright, and then blinking out.

 

And high above the reeling town, perched atop the roof of Hollow Bastion, was Xehanort, also transfixed on the night sky. And he was determinedly writing in a notebook, his personal research log:

_ ‘That night I observed a great meteor shower in the sky. Could it be related to the door that I have opened?’ _

He smiled.


	2. Before the Fall: Radiant Garden (Part Two)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Within the halls of Hollow Bastion, darkness is brewing. But the appearance of lights falling from the sky brings both excitement and uncertainty, and two innovating minds see rather different opportunities…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> god this took me months and i had to rush to get it out before 4.2. Unlike the first chapter which focused on the townsfolk of Radiant Garden, this chapter's centered around those who work within the castle Hollow Bastion. And in particular, one young engineer who's comparatively new…

Most in the town stayed up past midnight to watch the meteor shower; some were awed children, but others were concerned adults talking well into the wee hours of the night about the events of the day that just passed; about King Ansem and his mysterious experiments that now had a body count. Ansem personally promised the families of the lost that he would provide whatever they needed for them, but there was some discussion on whether or not it was enough. But whether they liked it or not, the next day came and life would go on. Of course, some families decided to take a few days off to mourn their lost loved ones and find comfort in each other. Radiant Garden had lost much of its light; their faith in the once-beloved wise ruler had been shaken, and the children who had lost loved ones were especially despondent.

It was times like this when Garlond missed his old job. There was no denying that his current position as one of the king’s leading team of engineers helped the town on a larger scale, but at the same time, it felt a good deal less personal than his true passion...

And he missed his old job even more when he woke up the next morning to a blaring series of message notification noises erupting from the computer monitor on the wall by his bed.  _ What a lovely way to start the morning,  _ he thought to himself as he sat up with a sleepy groan. He finger-combed his messy shoulder-length white hair out of his tired silver eyes so he could rub the sleep out of them. Turning his attention to the monitor, Garlond opened his messages to check who was sending him the unpleasant wake-up call, having a vague idea of what was coming.

And indeed, as he dreaded, it was his boss, as evidenced by the a long string of colorful swear words, typed in all capital letters: _“GARLOND YOU SLEEPY LITTLE GREENHORN B!^ &#! GET THE F*%& DOWN HERE YOU BABYFACED LAZYA$$! WE GOT A S#!^^0% OF WORK TO SLOG THROUGH SO GET YOUR P!£€£ OF S#!^ P*$$¥ A$$ DOWN HERE RIGHT! F*%&!%&! NOW!!!!!”_

The profanity-laced message was unmistakably the calling card of Cid Highwind, head of the Central Industrial Dreamweavers, the king’s personal team of engineers. And Garlond had no idea how, except through skill and nothing else, such a profoundly crude, foul-mouthed, tyrannical, and generally disagreeable individual could have impressed Ansem the Wise enough to give him such a prestigious position. Or maybe it was the fact that his first name, by sheer, mind-boggling coincidence, matched the Team’s acronym. But Cid was Cid, and Garlond would have to deal with it. 

He dragged himself out of bed, stretched until several of his joints gave a  _ ‘pop’, _ freshened up, changed into his work clothes, and prepped himself to meet his colleagues in the Bastion for whatever ‘s#!^^0% of work’ awaited them. And on his way out the door, he made sure to pick up his lucky goggles from their resting spot in front of a framed photograph.

“Here's hoping I don't get roasted too badly. See you later, Dad,” Garlond said to the man pictured in the photo, with a hint of wistfulness.

 

Thankfully the first face to greet Garlond in the Hollow Manufactory, the castle workshop, was a friendly one: a colleague around his age, a cheerful young lady who never let her perpetual coating of engine grease dampen her spirits. She waved to him, her short blonde curls bouncing as she jumped to get his attention, “Heya, Garlond! Got here just in time, Chief Highwind was hoping you would make it.”

“Are you sure that’s the right phrasing, Aurum?” Garlond looked skeptical. “I got the impression that I was in for a lambasting either way.”

“Nah, yer fine,” Aurum waved him off with a smile. “The chief’s just fired up ‘cause of the new job we got from the King.”

“And what would that be?”

“C.I.D TEAM, AT ATTENTION!” From the next room over, a painfully loud, painfully familiar voice bellowed out a commanding string of expletives before reading off a list of names. “Lufaine, Fynn, Haze, Pollendina, Previa, Marquez, Kramer, Fabool, Nero, Raines, Garlond, Aurum! GET IN HERE!”

“I get the feelin’ we're about to find out.” Aurum beckoned him along into the next room. “Come on!”

Following Aurum into the chief’s office, she and Garlond were the first into the room. Seconds later, a small army of engineers stampeded in and gave Cid a salute. The eleven men and single woman said in unison to their superior, “C.I.D Team reporting, sir!”

“That’s better.” Cid nodded in satisfaction, smugly eyeing his subordinates, “Now, I know y’all’re pitiful excuses for engineers, but I’m sure even  _ you _ weren’t so blind that you missed the big meteor shower last night!”

The meteor shower? Was that what this assignment was about? Garlond cast an aside glance to Aurum, but she silently urged him to keep listening.

And Cid kept going. “Now I’m sure you’re wondering, ‘why in the holly hey does that ol’ star shower matter to a buncha engineers?’ Well, to that I say, it matters because Ansem says it does, and he signs our paychecks!” He paused, as if he was expecting a laugh from his captive audience, but was met with dead silence. After realizing he wasn’t getting a response, he elaborated, “Some of the debris from the meteor shower fell down to the ground, all the way out in the mountains. So our mission is to go check it out and see what we can haul back!”

A collective understanding fell upon the C.I.D Team, but one voice wasn't satisfied, making itself known with a scoff. A haughty, low scoff, with a tone of superiority. The man standing behind Garlond, a tall, blond man dressed in red and wearing sunglasses indoors, followed that scoff with a question: “And why send  _ us _ to retrieve this fallen debris? Is it not the job of the Guard to pick up refuse off the ground?”

Cid shot a glare and spat a curse at the offending engineer, before growling, “I was gettin’ to that,  _ Nero _ .” He swore again. “We’re goin’ all the way out into the mountains for two reasons. One, ‘cuz Ansem thinks the meteorite could be a new type of metal for us to work with and we should be the first to see it. And two:  _ ‘cause I thought y’all would appreciate a chance to get some fresh air and actually do somethin’ other than bein’ glorified plumbers-slash-electricians for this damn stinkin’ flower town, but I guess not! _ ”

Nero only smirked, undeterred and even amused by Cid’s retort, and shrugged. “I quite prefer the aromas of the workshop to a tedious and buggy hike through the untamed wilderness for the sake of what's probably some bits of rock debris that burned up on entry. But if you insist on that kind of futile adventure, then by all means, enjoy your little field trip.” He turned around and strode out the door.

Cid only grunted in disgust and shrugged in dismay while turning his back to the remainder of the C.I.D Team. “Fine by me. Anyways, if y’all are comin’, hustle on over to the castle gates around noon. It sucks to say it, but the flaming effer is right, this is basically a field trip. But yeah, show up if ya actually give a sugar-honey-ice-tea about industry or discovery or whatever. Dismissed.”

 

“Wait up, Nero!”

Garlond took the opportunity to follow the taller engineer back out into the workshop. Nero deigning to slow his pace by only a small amount was still enough for the other to catch up. “I thought you of all people would be interested in studying  _ meteorites. _ I mean, just think of what we could make with space metal!”

“Hmph.” Nero shrugged as he neared his workbench. “As I said before, even if you were to find anything out in all that mess, the meteorites themselves would likely be far too small to create anything substantial.”

“So what? There's no harm in going to see for ourselves if there is or isn't anything out there.”

“Well, if you’re that eager to go rooting around in the mud, then I certainly won’t stop you.” Nero smirked, sitting down and slouching into his seat. “By all means go enjoy yourself. And even if you do bring back fist-sized chunks of worthless metal, I’m sure you can work it into some lovely little knickknack for a toddler to chew on.”

“ _ Excuse me? _ ”

The senior engineer waved a hand towards Garlond’s workbench at the other end of the room. Or more specifically, various clockwork models, machines, and toys that he had made over the course of his original job. Garlond felt his face heating up with anger at the insult, but despite how much he wanted to retort, the urge to refute him with solid proof was stronger. He would find a meteorite so large that a crane would be needed to bring it back. 

That was the thought that Garlond contented himself with for the morning as he worked. Usually the Manufactory busied itself with town repair, from water pipes to forging artisans’ tools. Practical matters, but nothing truly boundary-pushing. And that was why he so looked forward to this little expedition. 

After all, his dearly departed father always said that was the goal; constant improvement of both the self and the world. So that optimistic thought was the one he kept in his mind that morning. 

 

Even when expressing apathy, Cid’s voice managed to project across the room. “Field trip starts in one hour, ladies! Make sure to be ready in case ya don’t wanna miss leg day!”

Aurum, the only woman on the C.I.D Team, shouted back, “Who’re ya callin’ a lady, old geezer?”

Garlond’s attention was one more sarcastic comment away from being glued to their banter, but he noticed the door to the Manufactory opening out in his peripheral vision. A spindly man with long, pale hair and a researcher’s lab coat passed through the threshold, and somehow the hot workshop grew cold with his presence. 

He had never seen the purported ‘Chilly Academic’ in the flesh, but he knew at once that it was Even, leader of the bioresearch division and the eldest of the King’s six apprentices. The same six who were, to varying degrees, responsible for the twenty deaths in the recent heart experiments. And something in the cool indifference in Even’s demeanor in spite of that was somehow even more chilling. And such was only compounded when, after a few moments of scanning the room, he made his way straight to Nero’s workbench, and the two began talking.  _ No good things can come from this, _ Garlond realized immediately.

Plucking a tiny screw off his table, Garlond took aim at the empty workbench a few spaces adjacent to Nero’s, and made a low, underhand throw. The screw rolled and rattled across the room, settling to a stop with a bump against one of the bench’s legs. He now had probable cause to be near that desk. As innocuously as possible, Garlond hurried to his planned eavesdropping spot. And just as he was entering earshot—

“Lost something, Garlond?” Nero interrupted his conversation with Even just to sneer at him.

“Don’t mind me, one of my screws just rolled this way.”

“Ha, was it one of the screws to your head? I already knew you had several loose, seems one fell out.”

Even and Nero both smirked and snickered at the quip, only compelling Cid to only roll his eyes as he knelt down behind the empty workbench, and stayed there. 

A few more mean cackles from Nero, ending with a happy sigh, “Ah, forgive me, Even, I couldn’t resist. But yes, where were we?”

“Anyway, as I was saying, this whole matter of the failed experiments has left me forbidden from leaving the Bastion. Which, I assure you, Master Ansem is perfectly justified in doing, but the timing of this incident and that of last night’s meteor shower, it’s all quite unfortunate.”

Garlond couldn’t see what they were doing, but he heard Nero scoff. “Hmph. Perhaps you could ask Chief Highwind about it. He’s taking the others on a ‘field trip’ to retrieve the debris from the mountains. A waste of time if you ask me, especially when there’s plenty of perfectly serviceable metal in the mine beneath the castle, even in spite of the recent–”

Even’s voice cut off Nero with a sharp whisper. “It may not be metal that you’re to be looking for; Xehanort has reason to believe that it may be organic material that fell last night.”

“… What.” Nero said aloud, and Garlond mouthed the same thing. What kind of meteorite was  _ organic?  _ “And what would Xehanort know about astronomy or meteoritics? An amnesiac is usually not the ideal source of information.”

“Be that as it may, I heard him out anyway. And I felt that as strange as the claim admittedly was, I thought such a thing warranted investigating. So I came to you, Nero.”

“And why me?”

“We’ve been friends for many a year, have we not? You’re one of the few here who realize that the ends justify the means when it comes to scientific progress and advancing our understanding of the world. And even now, you’re one of the few who accepts my company in spite of the bioresearch division’s recent… misstep.”

Garlond scoffed internally, almost externally, at Even’s last statement.  _ Make that twenty missteps.  _ Nor did he seem to be particularly remorseful about the human lives he destroyed. Garlond was disgusted with people like him; scientific advancement was no excuse for moral bankruptcy. 

Even continued, “All I ask is that you travel to the mountains in my stead, collect as many samples as you see fit, and bring them to me for our own study.”

Nero made a noise of skepticism. “Really? Just to study them? How do I know I’m not agreeing to anything that could jeopardize my  _ excellent _ standing with my superiors?”

_ Excellent, he says.  _ Garlond rolled his eyes, but listened more closely than ever.

“Please, my friend. I’ve nowhere else to turn,” Even pleaded, in a tone that almost sounded sincere.  _ Almost. _ “And besides, after hearing all this, has your curiosity not been piqued as well…?”

A long moment of silence. Then Nero sighs and mutters, “Fine, I’ll go on the damned field trip.”

Scraping of a chair and a rustle of cloth; Even must have stood up. “You have my thanks. If this turns out to be as fruitful as we’re hoping, you will have more than your fair share of the glory for our pending discoveries.”

“... I shall hold you to that.”

“Thank you. Now, I must away; I have a project of my own to attend to. Good luck, my friend.”

The sound of receding footsteps signaled the bioresearcher’s departure. Now Garlond was left to ponder the conversation he’d just overheard. Just what was Even planning? And was what he said true? And why would Nero agree to something so shady…? Garlond weighed his options. The most obvious option was to report to Cid, but there was the  _ slim _ chance that this business could be perfectly benign. He’d keep an eye on Nero on the expedition and keep him from doing anything suspicious, and verify Even’s claims.

Garlond was able to slip back to his desk undetected, where he spent the rest of the hour packing his bag. While casting periodic glances at Nero. He and the senior engineer had never gotten along in the brief time they’d known each other, but Garlond didn’t quite understand what their quarrel was about. Six months ago, Nero was the only one to openly object against Garlond’s recruitment into the C.I.D Team. He’d been called upon to replace his late father after an accident regarding something that had been dug up in the mines beneath the castle, but up to that point he’d worked as a maker and seller of clockwork devices, mainly wind-up toys. Garlond was all-too-aware of his lack of industrial experience, but apparently it didn’t matter to Ansem or Cid when Nero raised this point. And he’d  _ like _ to think he adapted well to the abrupt change in professions, and he got on well with the other engineers, which was more than Nero could say for himself.

As evidenced when Nero’s announcement right at the moment it was time to leave that he’d changed his mind about joining the expedition was met with a collective groan.

“Hmph,” Nero scoffed at the reaction, and as his eyes caught Garlond’s on the way out the door, he scowled. “Just make sure to stay out of my way. Unlike you, toymaker, the rest of us  _ earned _ our position.”

 

Cid’s assistant was given the task of holding down the fort at the Manufactory, while the expeditionary team that included the entire C.I.D Team (the eponymous chief being dressed to the nines in hiking gear, complete with a pole) all met up with their four Guardian escorts. Garlond recognized them; they’d been in the main square the night before, discussing this very job that would be assigned to them.

The first was a burly man wearing a dirty uniform and an anachronistic chain coif with a metal hat on top, having something of an absent-minded, yet earnest and enthusiastic look in both his eyes and demeanor. The second was a slender, yet steely woman with an eyepatch, and stood at attention. The third was a goliath of a woman, tall and muscular, sporting bright lavender undercut hair. The fourth was a black-haired man with a strong, rugged physique to match his stern face. (Or at least he must have been strong, considering how he effortlessly carried that freakishly large broadsword strapped to his back…) Those four introduced themselves: Steiner, Beatrix, Moenbryda, and Angeal. They saluted, and then they all started off together.

The trek out of the town and across the bridge was a silent one. They passed over the glassy water that perfectly reflected the violet sky, and into the bright green mountaintops just peeking out from the surface. Eventually the path they followed split in two; one branch continued the white-paved walkway of its source, and led to other, more rural settlements. The other was a dirt path into the nature trail that Garlond had not visited in recent memory, meant for hikers and climbers who sought more challenging terrain.

“Which way, Chief?” Aurum called to Cid at the front of the line.

Calling back, Cid answered by waving a folded slip of paper. “Ansem and his astronomers were generous enough to draw up for us a map of where they think the meteors landed. So it says we oughta follow the southeast path. Sooo iiiiiit’s…” He flapped open the map, stared at it a moment, and finally using his hiking pole to gesture towards the dirt path. “That-a-way.”

The party followed the path, dutifully following Cid’s directions even as the going got steeper and rockier. As they progressed further, their view became more and more dominated by the outcroppings of deep blue bedrock around the landscape. The guard Moenbryda was navigating the trail with far more ease than the others; perhaps she was originally from this part of the world, and thus more familiar with its terrain. Or maybe it was everyone else that was struggling with the nearly vertical hike. 

 

Whatever struggles were had along the way, nearly two hours after they set off from the castle, the exhausted expedition party reached a mercifully flat, forested area. Chief Highwind, on the verge of collapsing himself, waved the others off with his hiking pole and told them to ‘search wherever and look for craters and come back here once ya think yer done.’ Once everyone had caught their breath, they agreed to the vague order and split into groups headed in different directions, each accompanied by a guard in case of wildlife that needed to be fended off. Nero, meanwhile, with a scoff full of contempt for everyone in a mile-wide radius, and he got to his feet, skulking off on his own.

Garlond almost missed the cue to follow him. He got back to his feet in a hurry and started after the senior mechanic at a distance. Remembering Even’s cryptic request and Nero’s agreement to fulfill it, it was just a matter of weighing the options; watch his movements throughout and see what he does, and not intervene? Or approach and thwart the plan by not allowing Nero a moment alone to sneak off a sample for who-knows-what purposes? It was while Garlond hid behind a tree, watching Nero’s retreating back, that the choice was made for him:

“Heeey, Garlond!”

The familiar drawl alerted Garlond milliseconds before Aurum’s arm draped around his shoulders. “Where do ya think yer sneakin’ off to, all by yerself?”

Garlond had to ‘shush’ her with a finger to his lips, which only served to irk her.

“And just what’re you shushin’ me for?”

“Sorry, Aurum, but this isn’t a good time—”

“And why not?”

“W-well…” Garlond winced, only able to hope that Nero was far enough out of earshot to not hear her.

“‘Well’ what? Spit it out, Garlond! You on some kinda secret mission or somethin’?”

“That’s… not far off, really. It could be nothing, but right now my best guess is… ‘counter-espionage.’”

“Wait, what? You serious? Do you mean we got a spy on our hands?”

“Spy might be a bit much, but…” Garlond hesitated, but figured he could at least trust Aurum to help. “I overheard something suspicious this morning. Bioresearch Director Even seems to know what we’re gonna find here, and he recruited Nero to bring it back to him.”

“You mean  _ our _ Nero?”

“He’d probably protest any attempt to claim ownership of him, but yes, our Nero.”

“Well, no time to lose, then! Let’s not give that weasel the chance to steal from us.” Aurum punched her open hand, her face scrunched up in furious, but still enthused, determination. “He ain’t leavin’ our sight the whole time, and we’ll find the meteorites before he does!”

Garlond was about to question her use of the words ‘us,’ and ‘our,’ but then he figured he should have known it would be silly to keep her out of this now that she knew. “Alright, alright, let’s go.” Turning back around to look down the path, however, “… Wait, where’s Nero?”

Just when it looked like the tailing had ended before it began, Aurum managed to spot a distant blond head moving downhill. Immediately they hurried after him as quickly as their legs (and gravity) could carry them.

 

Having spent the last ten minutes fumbling around the woods, scanning the ground for any signs of any kind impact, Nero again cursed Cid and this damned expedition he’d been forced into. What they were looking for was either comically large or comically small. And given how difficult it was to find anything out of the ordinary, Nero could only surmise that these meteor fragments were indistinguishable from pebbles.

“Hmph,” Nero grumbled to himself, “If Xehanort knew these would be no ordinary meteorites, then perhaps he should have mentioned how to actually  _ find them… _ ”

“Aw, don’t you get discouraged now!”

Nero whirled around, immediately realizing that he’d been followed, and there he saw Aurum and Garlond, sneaking up on him. Shaking off the surprise, Nero snidely questioned, “And just what are the two of you up doing here?”

Crossing his arms, Garlond replied, “We saw you wandering off into the woods without a Guardian, so we thought we’d stay with you to make sure nothing happened.”

The lie was so painfully obvious that Nero could only smirk. Garlond thought he was being sneaky, just like during his pathetically transparent attempt at eavesdropping this morning. “Hmph. Is that right. How courteous of you.”

Silence ensued as the two men stared each other down, but Aurum quickly broke it; “What, are y’all having a starin’ contest? Come on, let’s get movin’!” 

 

The hunt for the meteorites remained tense as they hunted around the hillside, gradually descending downwards. Garlond and Aurum continually sneaking suspicious glances in Nero’s direction, and Nero continually returning them. This process continued for the better part of an hour until they came to the rocky bank of a river that stretched all the way to the horizon, with rocky blue mountaintops rising out like islands. At which point Nero made some sort of groaning noise that sounded somewhere between exasperation and resignation.

“ _ Uuugh, _ I  _ knew  _ this would be nothing but a waste of time! Even if whatever fell from the sky last night  _ was  _ valuable, it more than likely just fell into the water!”

And as much as Garlond wanted to disagree, he couldn’t help feeling a bit of confusion as to the point of all this. “If he wanted us to retrieve something, Ansem must have a good reason to be sure we actually  _ could… _ ” 

Aurum, hands on her hips and eyebrow raised, spoke up, “Well, o’course he does! Ya think this is the first time weird stuff’s fallen from the sky?”

Both men turned to look at her, neither having expected that response. Garlond responded first, “… You mean it isn’t?”

“I mean, yeah. Me, my Paw Paw, and some others in the Manufactory have all been on these kinds of treasure hunts before. Whenever we see shooting stars, there’s usually something interesting to find.”

It was this that Nero was the most incredulous about. “Wait, why have I never heard about these?”

“It was usually just somethin’ Gramps and his friends did. Guess they never invited ya,” she shrugged.

Nero looked annoyed at this, but Garlond only grew more curious. “And they actually found cool stuff out here?”

“You bet he did!” Aurum confirmed with a grin. “Where else do ya think Space Paranoids came from?” 

Here was where Nero had to express his disbelief, “ _ Space Paranoids?  _ Hollow Bastion OS? You can’t be serious--”

“You bet yer backside I’m serious!” Aurum sternly thrust her finger in his face, “Years ago my Gramps and Mister Midas found a big computer monitor and some discs all busted up out here, so they brought it back to the workshop, salvaged the hard drive, and reverse-engineered the tech to make a supercomputer!”

“Wait,  _ ‘Mister Midas’? _ ” Garlond said, “You mean my dad did all of that?”

“Yeah,” Aurum replied with a nod. “Didn’t you know?”

Garlond shook his head. “I never really knew much about what Dad was doing at his job. He never told me…”

All fell silent again, until Nero, who’d been scanning the surface of the river, said, “... And what is  _ that? _ ”

They both then turned to follow his gaze to have their sights caught on some strange object, bobbing along through the water. They had to squint to make it out; some sort of cube, painted in various overly-saturated colors. Something as out of place as that could only be one thing. Racing to the edge of the riverbank beside Nero and leaning as far forward as he could, Garlond gave the object another hard squint before being convinced, at which point he grinned in excitement. “That has to be it! A meteorite! How do we get it?”

“Take a wild guess, genius.” Those words and Nero’s smug tone were Garlond’s only warning before he was pushed forward off the riverbank, sending him tumbling face-first into the river. Flailing at the sudden,  _ extremely cold _ submersion, the first thing he heard upon resurfacing to catch his breath was that same smug tone. “Well? What are you waiting for? The meteorite is floating away, swim after it!” 

_ ‘Dammit, I was probably going to do it anyway _ …’ Grumbling internally to himself, Garlond left Nero to the thorough admonishment he was getting from Aurum and turned to start swimming for the strange cube. Whatever this thing was, it was buoyant to stay afloat in the water, so it was clearly no kind of metal. The current was a slow one, so he could cut through the water quickly enough to catch up. The moment his fist closed around the object, the immediate thing that grabbed his attention was the fact that this meteorite had some sort of  _ give  _ to it…? The block, heavily saturated red in color, was small enough to fit in his palm, wasn’t absorbing the water it had just been floating in, and most of all, had a distinct rubbery texture… This really wasn’t any kind of rock.

Garlond examined it for a few moments, just treading water, but when he happened to glance to his left, “Ah, look at that, there’s another one.” To his right, “And another…” Gathering the other two blocks, he began his swim back to the riverbank, and indeed, he managed to pick up a few more on the way. Aurum helped him out of the water, while Nero only got closer to take a look at the strange little things that their adventure revolves around; expectantly the senior engineer held out a hand. Only reluctantly did Garlond give him one of the several gathered pieces, the rest of them he handed to Aurum as he pushed back his dripping wet hair. “What do you two think…?”

“Just as Even said…” Nero marveled at the block he held, testing its feel between his thumb and forefinger before Garlond had to insistently take it back. “They really  _ are  _ organic _ … _ Or at least elastic.”

“‘S weird, though,” Aurum said, studying and squinting at her own samples, her tone somewhere between concerned and skeptical. “They don’t look like anything natural. Sorta like… jello something. You  _ sure _ these are the meteorites we’re lookin’ for, Garlond?”

“It’s a gut feeling,” He said, peeling off his wet jacket and leaving himself in a thin undershirt that was likely to dry faster. ”Whatever they are, I’ve never seen anything like it. It might not be of this world.”

“Well, either way,” Aurum said, “we found some samples. So Cid can get a good look at ‘em and tell us what’s what.”

 

Now that they knew what to look for, the three of them found a fair few more of the red blocks on their way back up the hill to regroup with the C.I.D Team. And upon their return to the clearing they’d set out from, the majority of the Team was there waiting for them, looking varying degrees of disheveledness. And they seemed to all be grouped around their Guardian escorts with their findings.

Moenbryda, was the first to spot them, and she waved. “There you are, you lot! We were worried about you!”

Aurum returned the wave with a grin, “Sorry about that! But we got somethin’ y’all are gonna love!” With a ‘ta-dah!’ she gestured to Garlond, carrying an armful of the squishy red cubes. Exclamations of approval and excitement drew forth.

“We found some too, but they weren’t shaped like that,” Moenbryda said, gesturing to the pile in front of her; a multicolored array of several blocks of varying shapes. As soon as he could, Garlond lay his haul on the grass and hurried over to the other; some were cubes, some spheres, some cylinders, some triangular prisms… What’s more, their patterns differed. While the blocks that Garlond found were a solid color, these changed to a lighter shade around the ribbed edges of the shapes. The tall guardswoman seemed quite pleased with herself, kneeling down next to Garlond to examine admire her handiwork. She practically preened, “Awesome, right?”

“We found quite a few, ourselves,” said Angeal, appearing rather pleased with his group’s haul: a pile of white fin-like shapes. “We couldn’t be sure that they were the meteorites we were looking for, so we took as much as we could find. Not as colorful as what you all found, but I’ll leave it to you scientists to discern what that means.”

An elder, bespectacled, brown-haired member of the C.I.D Team, (Fabool, was that his name?) “You fared better in your searches than us. The one block we did find was quite large, but, well…”

With a touch of pity, Fabool canted his head in the direction of his escort, (his uniform even dirtier now, covered in leaves and grass stains) a rather flustered-looking Steiner. He stumbled to his feet as he began his explanation, “I… I was left alone with the giant block while the others conferred on how to move it. Then by chance I leaned against it, and it moved quite easily; picking it up, I realized it was surprisingly light!” Steiner made an excited gesticulation to denote the happy surprise experienced by his past self. “In fact, I was moved to test the blocks newfound weightlessness by throwing it into the air. And just as I expected, it flew high above my head!”

“Get to the point already, Steiner,” the eyepatched guardswoman, Beatrix, said curtly. 

Steiner gulped, and suddenly seemed very focused on the ground, not meeting anyone’s gaze. “W-well, I tossed it upwards, and it flew up above the treetops… A-and…” He whimpered, and then dropped his voice so low Garlond could barely hear; he muttered something unintelligible, and then, “ _ …flew overhead, and the block was gone. _ ”

“What was that?” Something within Garlond dreaded to know the answer, but he had to ask anyway.

Before Steiner could clarify, Beatrix shook her head in exasperation and answered for him: “He said that  _ a passing duck  _ flew by and stole the meteorite.”

A… duck?

Immediately Steiner wrung his hands with frantic insistence. “I swear, that was no ordinary duck! What normal duck uses a  _ hang glider?! _ ” 

Beatrix only groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I keep telling you, Steiner, making up ridiculous stories will just make things worse for you! Just admit you lost it and apologize already!”

Despite the flagrant strangeness surrounding his story, Steiner genuinely seemed to believe it. “But I swear that’s what I saw! And just such a man-duck lives in town, selling ice cream! Who else could it be?!”

Now Beatrix’s tone grew dangerously sharp, and all present instinctively flinched. “Do you want me to report your bumbling to the Captain? He’ll be sure to review your pay and dock it accordingly.”

Aghast, Steiner leaned back in shock as if he’d been physically stricken. “B-B-B- _ Beatrix! You wouldn’t!” _

Crossing her arms, Beatrix’s scowl turned to a smirk. “Apologize now and the only thing I’ll do issue recommend you over to Minwu to get a physical. If you’re seeing humanoid ducks flying on hang gliders then at the very least you’re due for an eye exam.”

Shoulders sagging, the burly guardsman whimpered for a moment before kneeling on the ground and grovelling before the entire party. “Please forgive me, everyone…!”

While Garlond and Aurum could only feel pity for Steiner, Nero could only scoff at the little drama that had unfolded before him. “Yes, yes, you clumsy oaf, you’re forgiven and forgotten. We’ve gotten what we came here for, did we not? Chief Highwind, shall we return to the workshop to give these meteorites or whatever they are a proper inspection?”

No response came, and it suddenly brought to attention the fact that Cid had been suspiciously quiet during the whole exchange. It took a brief moment of looking around to find the senior engineer, looking quite peaceful as he was taking a leisurely nap under a nearby tree. 

“... All those in favor of leaving him here, say ‘aye’?”

A chorus of ‘ayes’ followed Nero’s motion, and within minutes the entirety of the C.I.D Team (minus its namesake) had gathered up the blocks and vacated the clearing, on their way back to Radiant Garden. 

 

Though Garlond voted in favor of abandoning Cid to his slumber, he still felt a twinge of concern a half hour later when, on their way back down the mountain trail, there came the distant sound of a maddened, flurrious rant. The faint echoing of a long,  _ long  _ string of enraged swear words and explicitly violent oaths, punctuated with “ _ I’M GONNA F*%&!%& KILL ALL OF YAAAAAAA…! _ ”

“... Maaaaaybe we should pick up the pace so he doesn’t catch up,” Garlond suggested to the group. There was a unanimous nod, and everyone, including those carrying the blocks in large sacks, broke into a run. 

Yet despite their rush to evade the wrath of their boss, a continuous, hurried stomping noise persisted behind them. “There is actually a bright side to all this!” Nero commented, sounding awfully cheerful despite running for his life. “He’s making the return trip a great deal faster!”

 

Indeed, the hike that had taken the group two hours had now taken practically no time at all. A fact likely helped by the fact that they were now going downhill and again, running from their angry boss; and the long run had taken its toll on some of the less athletic engineers; Beatrix and Moenbryda wound up carrying a few members of the Team over their shoulders. But at long last,  in the dimming light of sundown, Garlond could see the end of the trail; they were almost to the paved road that would lead them back to Radiant Garden. Having just climbed back down to the bottom of the last plateau, they arrived at the home stretch. 

Angeal stood at the bottom of the cliff, having taken it upon himself to perform a headcount of all the members as they passed by him. Poor Steiner had been lagging behind, and he was the last to pass. From the top there sounded loudly approaching stomps, signalling that the irate man was right on their tail. Garlond, however, was not expecting Angeal to shout to the group, firmly rooted to where he stood: “All of you, go on ahead!”

Well, after a declaration like that, he certainly couldn’t leave without seeing what happened. Racing to a vantage point where he could view the confrontation from a safe distance, Garlond watched as Cid ran at full tilt to the edge.

_ ‘Surely he wouldn’t-- Nope, he just did.’ _

Cid leapt off the cliff with a roar that resonated through the land: “ _ YOUUUUU S-O-B’S, LEAVIN’ ME TO DIIIIIIIE…! _ ” 

Cid vaulted into the sky like one of the dragoons of legend, resulting in a perfect arc before gravity led him back down with tremendous speed, his body positioned perfectly so he was falling feet-first. Immediately Garlond that his trajectory would have him dropkick Angeal directly in the face; that kind of impact could break the man’s neck! And Angeal dropped his bag and drew his oversized sword, looking to the world prepared for a full-on fight. Garlond knew deep down that Cid’s bark was worse than his bite, and the bark was what everyone had been running to avoid. But the idea of someone actually getting hurt or even killed over this--!

But Angeal immediately dashed those worrisome fears by raising his sword so that it was the flat of the blade being held aloft; an instant later, Cid’s boot connected directly with it with enough force to cause a small shockwave of light. And Angeal, with one powerful yet smooth movement, swung the sword upwards, the flat of the blade being the springboard that flung Cid straight into the air, out of sight, and Garlond could only guess, possibly into orbit.

And after a brief moment of checking the spot where Cid’s foot made contact with the sword, (what was he looking for, scuffs? A dirty footprint?) Angeal nodded to himself and returned it to his back, picking up his bag and rejoining the race back. And as much as Garlond wanted to ask about just  _ what in the cosmos just happened,  _ he got the distinct impression that such a feat was entirely normal for the Guardian. So they went in silence as they rejoined with the C.I.D Team on the fork in the road where this whole adventure began. 

“It’ll be awhile before he comes back down,” Angeal told them, a bit too casually. “We can catch our breath for now.”

Beatrix and Moenbryda put down the engineers they’d been carrying, and they all resumed their slower, even-paced trek towards the town, grateful to be back on pavement. The peace of the early evening—

“ _ HWURGH!” _

—was promptly broken by a pained grunt and a thudding sound. Both came from Steiner, who was now laying facedown on the pavement. His bag dropped to the ground along with him, with its gummy contents spilling out. Weakly he waved a hand, which was likely the only strength left in his limbs, and managed to pant out “I, hah, I’m unharmed! I just, phwuh, just tripped on something…” 

Garlond did note the cylindrical object lying on the ground; it had the same coloration as the objects they found today, but there was something different about this one, because that black metal dish attached to the end of it made it look kinda like—

Nero let out a sigh of exasperation, having finally lost all pretense of patience. “We don’t have time for this!”  Watching Nero march over and kneel down next to Steiner’s prone form, Garlond felt a sudden sense of alarm, and glanced next to him at Aurum, who was also watching with some trepidation. He lifted the neck of the sack, twisted the cloth closed, and tied it into a knot. With a haughty tone, he said, “I can see that face you’re making, and I can tell you’re nervous about something you expect I’m up to. So I have a proposition: since you clearly don’t trust me with the meteorites," To their great surprise, Nero then held out the sack to Garlond. “Here. You carry it.”

Garlond, having found himself profoundly taken aback, hesitated a brief moment before taking it, trying his hardest to act like Nero’s sudden… whatever he was doing, hadn’t caught him off-guard. “R-right.”

Meanwhile, Steiner was waving off Beatrix’s offers to help him to his feet. “I, I’ll be fine,” he insisted. “Just-just give me a moment to regain my strength...”

Despite the harsh tone she took with him earlier, she seemed still concerned for his well-being. “Are you sure…?”

Moenbryda, having been watching this play out from the road, called over, “He knows how to get back, Bea. He’ll be fine.”

Beatrix, still not convinced, dug into her pocket and fished out a potion. “Here, drink this and catch up with us, okay?” Wordlessly Steiner nodded, and accepted the drink, and finally Beatrix stood up and rejoined the others as they all followed the road back into town.

But not before Nero tossed back one last comment, “And be sure to bring along that thing that you tripped upon, won’t you?”

 

The long procession of twelve engineers and three guards crossed the bridge as night fell over their heads and the stars above made their own slow march across the sky. Aurum made her way to the front, while the sack-laden Garlond lagged towards the back. The others talked amongst themselves, but he was left to his own thoughts—

—Never mind, there was Nero, now walking next to him and smirking. “Why the long face, Garlond?”

Clutching the bag tighter, Garlond only answering him with a stiff grimace that he could only hope resembled a smile in some way, while quickening his pace to get away.

“Now now, use your words, Garlond,” The taller engineer shrugged, as condescendingly as a shrug could possibly be. “First you refuse to let me alone, now you’re itching to get away from me? Which is it? And why don’t you trust me?”

Immediately his mind raced to think of something that wasn’t ‘I eavesdropped you and Even.’ But thankfully there was a close second reason: “Well, I don’t have any clue why, but ever since I’ve started working at the Manufactory, the rest of the C.I.D Team’s reactions ranged from friendly to indifferent. And you’re the only one who was ever…” He phrased it as delicately as possible. “…Outright hostile.”

_ “Hostile?” _ Nero exclaimed, thoroughly mock-shocked. “Name one time I’ve been hostile towards you.”

“Oh, I dunno,” Garlond was full-on scowling now. “The constant insults, taking jabs at my old job,  _ pushing me into a river… _ ”

“That’s just my way of being friendly.”

“Not very friendly to me,” he grumbled, glowering and looking the other way.

“Hmph. Really, Garlond, if you can’t integrate yourself into the Team’s group dynamic, then what are you even doing here?”

“See? That’s exactly what I meant! Do you just have a problem with me in particular?”

The look on Nero’s face changed. Where he was originally smiling and enjoying his needling of Garlond, his expression now was one of cold disdain. “You should consider things from my perspective.”

This change unsettled something inside Garlond. “Uh… What? You’ve lost me.”

“Alright, then I’ll make this easy for even you to understand. Imagine you’re me. I’m sure a pampered city boy like you wouldn’t understand or appreciate the hard work that it took to get to where I am now. A spot on the King’s personal, hand-picked team of thirteen engineers is a prestigious position that most can only hope for. It took years of honing my skills before I could even apply, and for all my talents I was still one of several young hopefuls. His Lordship recognized that I was the best, and chose me for the Central Industrial Dreambuilders, or C.I.D Team. We were tasked with keeping Radiant Garden running smoothly, our best being Chief Highwind, Master Sophiar, and your old man Master Midas. And then Master Midas got into his little mining accident.”

‘ _ Little mining accident. _ ’ Of course, Garlond remembered it far too vividly. The night before, his father came home wildly excited about a strange, giant armored machine that the miners had excavated and called upon him to examine. And he left early the next morning, eager to study it; but the machine went berserk as if possessed, and escaped the mineshaft. Midas was found dead in the wake of its rampage. As for the rogue mechanical monstrosity, it split into three parts and scattered to different places around town, until witnesses at the town’s Reactor watched the three pieces reform and the armor be destroyed by three foreign adolescents carrying bizarre weapons. ‘ _ So at least it didn’t hurt anyone else… _ ’ By sheer coincidence, Midas forgot his signature goggles at home that day; the goggles that Garlond wore on his forehead every day after that.

“As tragic as it was,” Nero continued in a matter-of-fact tone, “the topic of finding someone to replace him could not be ignored. So Master Ansem, in his ‘wisdom,’ passed over all the applicants who, like me, had worked to earn the honor, in favor of… The late Midas’ son, founder of a quaint little shop called  _ Garlond’s Clockworks. _ A toymaker with no experience in civil engineering, chosen only because he was the son of the genius. Tell me, is there any way to read that scenario that  _ doesn’t  _ reek of sheer nepotism? Just what was so special about you?”

Garlond stopped walking, stunned into silence. For a long moment, he could only stare at Nero, not knowing what to say. He bowed his head, contemplative and introspective when, to Nero’s surprise and chagrin… he smiled.

“You know, you just said out loud a lot of what I was thinking when I got the offer. I didn’t ask for the position, and I didn’t know why Ansem requested me. So I wound up asking him when he interviewed me.”

“… And?”

“And it turns out, Dad bragged about me a  _ lot _ when he was at work. Then Ansem asked me his own question. He asked why I decided on why I chose the profession I did and started the Clockworks.”

Nero looked skeptical, but said, “Go on.”

“I had a lot of options with my industrial design education, but most of what I was seeing didn’t really appeal to me. So Dad told me to go with my dream job, and do what would make me happy. Then I had the idea of giving away some of of the wind-up stuff I made when I was younger for other kids to enjoy, and that turned into the Clockworks.” Midas was busy with work a great deal of the time, often having to spend entire nights at the Manufactory. Building little mechanical trinkets was for Garlond a cherished pastime that helped him feel closer to his father. “Dad loved the idea, and the downstairs of our house was converted into a workshop and storefront. And the kids around town loved it, so I kept doing it. I wanted to put a little bit more light into their lives.”

_ Garlond’s Clockworks. _ Despite now having been forced to close its doors and turn back into just his lonely old house, the place would always have a special place in his heart. He’d always look back fondly of all the handmade gadgets he built, and all the people over the years who decided to give them homes with either themselves or whoever it would be gifted to; all the children who marveled at the toys. “Making the little ones happy was always the most rewarding part. And Ansem said that was why I was perfect for the C.I.D Team; he said a lot of the applicants only want the job because of the status, but only a few want to actually improve the town. He said he picked me not only because I’m a pretty good engineer in my own right, but because I understood what the whole point of the job  _ was. _ ”

Glancing back, Garlond saw that now it was Nero’s turn to be stunned into silence. Only after offering him a smile did the other engineer seem to register what was going on. In fact, he was almost on the cusp of saying something when a high-pitched yell cut through the stillness of the night:

“AIIIIIEYEYEYEYEYEEYAAAAAH!”

Everyone looked up to try and find the source of the noise. And then, one twinkle in the sky later, from on high came down Cid, apparently having learned his lesson after Angeal easily countered his attack, now propelling his hiking pole downwards like a spear. No one could be sure where he would land, and thus had no idea where to retreat to; he was likely so intent on getting retribution on the group for abandoning him that he would angle his descent to chase after at least someone.

And then, something that mortal beings could only refer to as a ‘miracle’ happened.

A flash of fire down the bridge, staying stationary for a moment, but then suddenly and rapidly growing larger-- no,  _ closer… _ Accompanied by the sound of an engine roaring, and a familiar voice screaming incoherently. Quite literally rocketing towards them, riding the cylindrical block he’d tripped over moments ago, was Steiner.

A chorus of voices from both the Cid Team and the Radiant Guardians (the loudest of which being Beatrix) yelled for him to either “ _ LET GO! STEINER, LET GO! _ ” or “ _ PULL UP, PULL UP, PULL UP! _ ”

Regardless of whether or not he could hear them, Steiner appeared to do the latter, turning his flight path upwards so he was no longer skidding along the ground. But it was a very near thing, and he only avoided colliding with the group because they dove out of the way, and he sailed directly skyward, taking Moenbryda’s sack of meteorites with him.

From there, it was difficult for those on the ground to discern what happened. Steiner and his rocket continued its wild flight path until he and Cid crashed into each other. The blow sent the cursing engineer hurtling the rest of the way down, until he hit the water’s smooth surface with a large and loud ‘SPLOOSH!’ While the rogue engine and its occupant seemed to have its course corrected, and both sailed straight over the walls surrounding Radiant Garden. All who had been watching immediately took off, running for the gates into the Outer Gardens to follow after...

 

The town was so quiet that night. Kairi could only guess that it was because so many families were too sad to go out. But that was why she decided to make good on her promise to Missus Lhaminn to help everyone feel at least a little bit better. 

With her grandmother’s recommendation, Kairi’s presents to the town would be bouquets tied with black ribbons. And she was now hurrying from house to house, leaving a bouquet at each one, be it on the doorknob, the windowsill, or the doorstep. For everyone missing a family member, a friend, or a neighbor.

Of course, she wasn’t doing this alone. Not only had she enlisted the help of her grandmother, but also the Gainsboroughs who ran the accessory shop wanted to come along when they learned what she was doing. Missus Elmyra and Missus Ifalna lent out both a pair of flower carts and their daughter Aerith (who happily agreed) to assist with giving out the bouquets. With her grandmother delivering flowers on another street, Kairi tirelessly darted back and forth between the cart (being pushed by Aerith) and the next door.

She kept this up until she realized that there were not enough bouquets for every house in the Borough; at this the girl was crestfallen and visibly drooped. “Aww, no… Now everyone who doesn’t get flowers will still be sad…”

Looking back at the single remaining bouquet that was clutched in the girl’s hands, Aerith thought for a moment, then offered a solution; “Kairi, why not give the last one to someone you know really needs it?”

“Hmmm…” The girl scrunched up her face, struggling to recall a name, but in a moment her eyes snapped back open. “Oh! I didn’t give one to Ascilia and her momma!”

Quizzically canting her head to the side, Aerith asked, “Didn’t you give them another bouquet yesterday? The one with the pink ribbon that I picked out?”

“Yeah, but that one was from before they found out about Mister Warbler— I mean, Mister Warbutton, ach, Mister  _ Warde!” _ She stumbled over the name, but got the point across eventually. “But they need a new one,  _ stat! _ To Ascilia’s house!”

Kairi took off running back the way they came, Aerith having to turn the flower cart around before she could follow suit.

By the time they arrived at the Warde family home’s street, their pace slowed back down to a walk. The small girl cast another look down to the black-ribboned bouquet. Sensing this uncharacteristic hesitation, Aerith asked, “Is something wrong?”

“Do you really think these will make people feel better about what happened…?”

“I’m sure it will. It’ll be like giving someone an umbrella when they’re stuck in the rain. Even if it doesn’t make the gloomy clouds go away or bring back the sunshine, and even if they’re still wet, they’ll still appreciate that they’re not being rained on anymore. Does that make sense?”

Kairi looked back up to the flower girl. “Yeah, it does! You sure know a lot, Aerith!”

She only smirked. “Well, you could say I learned from experience. I’ve seen a few pretty gloomy Clouds myself.” Aerith giggled to herself, but Kairi wasn’t sure if she got the joke.

Just as they moved toward the house, a noise overhead caught their attention. What was that sound, a rocket? And a scream…? Looking up into the sky, they were just in time to see a silhouette pass in front of the moon: a flying man carrying some kind of sack?

Kairi stared after it for a long moment, but then it hit her. The pointy hat… The big bag… And the flying…! It could only be…! “ _ AAAAH! _ Aerith!  _ Aerith! _ Did you see! It’s Santa! Santa came early to help deliver smiles!”

Aerith doubted that was the most likely correct conclusion to come to after seeing what just passed overhead. Whatever it was, it flew in the direction of the castle. And a crowd of about fifteen people just sprinted through the streets chasing after it. (At the front was a rather distressed guardswoman, followed closely by the man who ran the old toy shop...) She was reasonably sure it wasn’t Santa, but clearly  _ something  _ was happening. 

(Years later, Kairi would still insist that she saw Santa Claus flying through the sky on a summer night, despite her friends already having stopped believing.)

 

The C.I.D Team was once again gathered in the Hollow Manufactory, all wearied from their little adventure. They stood in the head engineer’s office as they did several hours before, but now that they were no longer dealing with Cid, but his far more even-tempered assistant Shera, the atmosphere in the room felt lighter.

Searching through the bags full of meteorites that had been placed before her, Shera adjusted her rounded glasses as she leaned in close to the sample she held in her hand.  _ “Amazing…” _ She examined it from all angles for nearly a minute before she remembered to say something. Pushing her long brown hair out of her face, she stammered, “O-oh, uh, sorry. Great job today, everyone! You put in a lot of work today, so you’re free to go home and get some rest!”

As soon as she said ‘free to go,’ Nero and a few of the others were already on their way out of the office. Most, however, lingered with a nagging question, which was then voiced by Aurum. “Hey, but what about—”

Shera, however, already knew where the question was going. “Steiner’s fine; we got him unstuck from the wall he crashed into with only minor kicking-related injuries. Minwu is seeing to him now. And Cid’s gone home. He’s sopping wet and  _ reeeally  _ grumpy, but otherwise none the worse for wear. Personally I think it’s his own darn fault that he got left behind after falling asleep on the job while you were out looking, but don’t tell him I said that! He’ll never let me hear the end of it if I take your side in front of him.”

Aurum put her fists on her hips, taking on an authoritative yet concerned tone for the other woman. “You really oughta give him some sass once in awhile! He deserves it; don’t you let his ego get any bigger than his hair!”

“Well…” Shera hesitated to say more, unconsciously tucking a loose auburn lock behind her ear. “M-maybe, but not tonight. Since I couldn’t come with you guys today, I’ll make up for it by pulling an all-nighter tonight and get to the bottom of just what these things are!” Now she seemed more in her element, describing with confidence to both herself and all who could hear her just what she had planned. “The notes you guys already provided are gonna be a big help, but I’m gonna figure out  _ everything. _ Their chemical properties, physical properties, what temperature is best for storing them…”

At that point Shera was full-on simultaneously rambling and squealing about science; at that point the remainder of the C.I.D Team saw fit to leave her to her work. She was known to be nothing if not thorough, so they trusted her; more than they did Cid, in fact.

After briefly packing up to go home, Garlond caught sight of a familiar blond head on his way out the door, and he followed after it. He called, “Nero!”

With a wince and a sigh, Nero turned back into the room and leaned against the doorframe, crossing his arms. “Yes, yes, I’m right here, what is it?”

“I admit, after all that’s happened today, I don’t really know what to think. But I believe you repeatedly said this morning that we wouldn’t find anything worthwhile out in the mountains, didn’t you?”

“A bit premature to call this whole day of tribulations ‘worthwhile,’ Garlond. We’ll have to wait on Shera’s appraisal to say for sure.”

Hesitation caught the words in his throat before he could form them. It took him a second to think of how to put the right words in the right order, but what came out was, “And about what you said before… Thanks for telling me.”

“… Don’t mention it.”

“I can’t say I really appreciate a lot of your attitude, but I can see where you’re coming from now. And hopefully you can see where I’m coming from too. It’s something we can both work on.” With a still slightly uncertain half-smile, Garlond offered his hand for Nero to shake. “Truce?”

Nero gazed at the hand for a moment, almost looking confused. But then his mouth stretched into his own thin-lined smile, and shook the other man’s hand. “Hmph. I see you in an entirely new light, Garlond. I can see now that I misjudged you.”

  
  


Exiting the castle through the front doors, Garlond found Aurum waiting for him, her expression neutral and hard to decipher. Walking down the stairs leading to the town’s central square, she finally found her voice.

“Hey, uh, what was that all about earlier?” She asked. “I thought Nero was up to somethin’ shady, but now you’re almost kinda like friends…?”

Garlond rubbed the back of his neck, still not sure of where he stood on the matter. “He had the opportunity to take them, but he didn’t. I dunno what this will mean for whatever plans Even had with the meteorites, now that Nero’s come back empty-handed.”

Aurum crossed her arms and shook her head. “Ugh, they both gimme the creeps.  _ Somethin’s  _ off about ‘em, it’s a gut feelin’.”

“Yeah, it still feels weird.” As much as Garlond wanted to hope that Nero was sincere in his new attitude, there was still some unsettling sense of wrongness in the back of his mind. “I mean, I guess we’ll find out as we go.”

By now they’d reached the bottom of the stairs, and at this point they had to separate and return to their homes in opposite directions.

“Yeah. Seeya tomorrow?”

“See you tomorrow.” With one last wave goodbye, Garlond made his way back to his house, eager to get some rest from the long day and shower off the river water. 

 

In the depths of the bioresearch laboratory, holding one of the peculiar, squishy blocks between his thumb and forefinger, Xehanort smiled in approval. “Excellent. Give Nero my deepest thanks, Even.”

“Nero said he snuck these samples into his pocket when one of the more buffoonish of the Guardians dropped a sack full of them,” The academic said, placing a small handful of more blocks onto a table. “He also passed along a message.”

Glancing back at Even with his golden eyes tinted by mild curiosity, Xehanort asked, “And what might that be?”

_ Several minutes earlier, Nero was on a borderline rant about his day, and his interactions with the newest member of the C.I.D Team. Even didn’t really care to listen to what Nero perceived as a slight against his skill as an engineer, or who was better than the other. But he did say as he handed over the meteorites, “I hope you appreciate what I went through to get these. Garlond overheard our conversation this morning and he watched me like a hawk all day long; I had to feign civility just to get him to stop, and the saccharine manchild thinks we’re friends now. If I have to see him make that nauseating smile at me again, I might actually retch.” _

The younger man snorted in amusement, “Quite scathing. It would seem Master Garlond’s earlier suspicions were well-founded.”

Even shrugged, apathetic to whatever squabbles the engineers busied themselves with. “Well, as long as he doesn’t inform Cid, he can do as he pleases. We’ve already fallen far enough from Ansem’s good graces; if we’re caught again he may really cast us out this time…”

“And I’ve nowhere else to go. How sad that we have to resort to such deceptive methods simply to better our understanding of the world. All because our master is a coward who can’t stand the thought of his apprentices surpassing him. I shudder to think what he might do were he to discover your… Heh,  _ new friend… _ ”

“Hehehehe… Unpredictable though she may be, she’ll provide invaluable help in gaining test subjects without raising further suspicion. As convenient as she is beautiful,” Even commented, a sneer full of cruel glee cracking his face. “Be sure to file your report once you’ve finished. I’m off to bed.”

 

In the dead of night, soft footsteps tread through Ansem’s empty office and into his computer room. Carefully, Xehanort approached the terminal and started up the computer. Typing in the password to access his master’s channel, (‘SEASALTICECREAM,’ how ludicrously simple…) anything he saved here would appear as though it was Ansem who created it. Just as the desktop flashed into view, out of nowhere came the voice of the artificial intelligence that came with this system spoke, and rather loudly at that, the volume must have been left up…

_ “Master Ansem? I thought you had logged off for the–” _

With a hurried  _ click, _ the program’s voice was muted, and Xehanort was able to work in silence. His eyes never leaving the screen as he opened a document, he tapped the keys at an even, steady pace. Within minutes, his report was finished.

_ ‘I am studying material from the meteors that rained down that fateful night. What a find! The material is foreign to our world. It is elastic to the touch, and when two pieces are combined, they bond easily. None of the records even mention such a substance. _ __  
_ Was it introduced to this world when I opened the door? I wonder how many other such materials drift through the atmosphere of this tiny world... I wish I could soar off and find out! Could there be uncharted worlds up there? My curiosity never ceases to grow. _ _  
_ __ But I should stop speaking of such unrealistic dreams. For now, there is no way to venture outside this world. My people and I are all but prisoners of this tiny place.’

Satisfied with this brief but succinct record of his progress, Xehanort saved the document under the filename  _ ‘Ansem Report 7.’ _


	3. Before the Fall: Radiant Garden (Part Three)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A month later, Ascilia and Kairi learn of strange happenings in the world around them.

In the days after her husband’s passing, Lhaminn Warde asked around with her friends about finding a new job, and found two. Warburton’s profession lie in goldsmithing, and he worked in the accessory shop owned by Elmyra and Ifalna Gainsborough. And while Lhaminn only had secondhand knowledge of jewelry-making, the Gainsboroughs learned she could weave bandanas and ribbons, and brew perfume, so that became her new day job. And a few nights every week she would attend her second job: singing and performing at a small and classy piano bar co-owned by Raine Leonhart and Julia Heartilly.

For Ascilia, life went on, despite how much she missed her father. She found comfort in her neighbors who had also lost loved ones. And her bitterness towards Ansem the Wise only slightly subsided; he had at least been true to his word when he said he would provide assistance to the families of the heart experiment victims. Every household in question received several hundred munny a week for groceries or supplies or other necessities. Between that and her mother’s new jobs, the adjustment to this new life was made a bit less painful. 

Ascilia also kept up with her babysitting job, looking after Kairi every day. She never asked about the younger girl's parents; in all the times she’d visited Kairi’s house, she had only ever met her grandmother, an old lady who (by her own admission) couldn’t keep up with the energetic little four-year-old.

But there would still be times when she could join Kairi and Ascilia on their trips around town, like to Hollow Bastion, the town’s castle. Despite being the residence of Radiant Garden’s ruler, parts of the castle were still open to the public, mainly the library.

Kairi didn't enjoy the library as much as she could have, still being in the process of learning how to read unassisted. So she would often get her Grandmother to read out anything she couldn't. At that moment, the two were reading a book of fairy tales together, sitting together at a desk beneath the staircase by the window. Ascilia browsed the lower shelves, (for they were the only ones she could reach and she didn't trust the scrawny ladder) looking for books on weaving or botany to check out for her mother. That search took her to a corner of the library she had never visited: two parallel shelves meeting a wall, the library equivalent to a dark alley.

And at a desk in that corner, gathering a pile of books into a stack, stood a towering man in elaborate, flowing robes. When he turned to face her, the man greeted her with a formal bow. And when he spoke, both his voice and his words were formal too.

“Begging your pardon, young miss. I was finished with these books and was moving to reshelve them. 

“Uh, that's alright,” Ascilia answered, not knowing what to make of this man. “Who are you?”

“I am this castle’s head librarian: Urianger Augurelt, at your service. Have you any need of assistance?”

“I was just looking around.” She had never seen the head librarian before now; his assistant Lyhia was the one who checked out the books to visitors. Perhaps he was less a librarian and more a hermit. But saying that would be impolite. “Actually, I was just looking for some books. Do you have anything on flowers or weaving?”

“Certainly we do.” He took her down to the relevant sections and fetched the requested books from their shelves. The librarian was tall enough to reach those books that were high up on the fourth shelf while someone of her height could barely reach the second on their tiptoes. Ascilia surmised that Urianger, like a giraffe, evolved to his lofty height for the sole purpose of acquiring sustenance that would otherwise be out of his reach. The only difference being that his sustenance was dusty old books. He handed her one book after the other, until she had to signal him to stop.

“Uh! Thank you, sir! That’s enough!” she said from behind the stack of books tall enough to obscure her face.

“You’re quite welcome. Do let me know if you need any other form of assistance.”

“Uh, sure…” Too busy trying to keep her balance than to consider the strangeness of the encounter, Ascilia stumbled back to the desk where Kairi and her grandmother still read together. And after plopping down her stack of books, she grabbed the one at the top: a red leather-bound tome that had the words “ _ Otherworldly Flora, a Botanical Guide by Flora Knotgrass _ ” printed across the cover. She wasn't sure if her mother could make perfume from any of the flowers in this book, but it was worth looking.

But after opening the book and flipping through it, she was only more confused by what she saw. The illustrations of all these flowers and trees, they looked like nothing found in Radiant Garden or the mountains and smaller towns beyond. She read out the names and origins of these plants, hoping to make sense of them: “The Night Howlers of Zootopia? The Deadly Nightshade of Halloween Town? The legendary Sun Drop Flower of Corona? What are all of these?”

Urianger had evidently not gone far, as he reappeared behind Ascilia’s chair immediately as she gave voice to her puzzlement. “You know, this book has always been mystery to me. Supposedly it had been donated to this library decades ago, by an elderly woman in red. She was accompanied by two sisters; they each donated a book of their own writing. The others were entitled ‘Otherworldly Fauna’ and ‘Otherworldly Weather.’”

“‘Otherworldly’ is right.” Ascilia scoured page after page, finding one ridiculous thing after the other. “I mean, really? Talking flowers that can make you grow or give you presents? Is this really a research book?”

“My best guess,” the librarian said, “is that those three sisters gathered their knowledge from realms other than this one.”

“... Come again?”

Ascilia was baffled, but Kairi seemed to understand what Urianger meant, judging from how she looked up and gasped in surprise. “You mean they could go to other worlds?”

Ascilia, however, was lost. “What do you mean, ‘other worlds?’”

Kairi’s grandmother smiled and chuckled, “It’s exactly that, Ascilia dear. Other planets completely different from the one we know, with people living completely different lives from ours. There are as many worlds out there as there are stars in the sky.”

_ Stars in the sky… _ “Wait, that reminds me… During the meteor shower, I saw a star disappear. Do you know what that’s supposed to mean?”

“We do not yet know, but Ansem the Wise has noticed it as well. And it deeply troubles him. It started some weeks before the shower, when one of our astronomers noticed a star vanish, appearing to simply blink out of existence. Followed by another a few days later, and then another after that. Slowly but surely… the night sky is growing darker and darker.”

All present grew quiet for a moment, each wondering what it all meant. Until Kairi’s grandmother spoke up, wearing a subtly wry smile. “Hm. Well, if you ask me, this all reminds me of a story.”

Ascilia canted her head in confusion. “What does a story have to do with this?”

Urianger, however, gave a sagely nod. “The tales of the past can often hold a clue, or even the key, to the dilemmas of the present.”

“Then what kind of story is it?”

Kairi’s eyes lit up with excitement, and she near-shouted, “Ascilia, you haven't heard it yet? Grandma, you've got to tell it again!”

“All right, all right, dear… I’m sorry, this is one of her favorites. It’s the story of how all these worlds came to be, and of the True Light…”

 

Ascilia walked hand in hand with Kairi, deep in thought. They had left the library, and the younger girl's grandmother had returned home. Just as well, because Ascilia’s mind was still swirling, replaying that story over and over again. The idea that the world was once far larger than she could ever comprehend, only to be consumed by apocalyptic darkness, and then reborn as countless smaller worlds… 

Trying to make sense of it gave her a headache. But she couldn't really do anything with that new information. Besides, it was lunchtime, and if her stomach was running on empty, Kairi’s was even more so, and she’d be much louder about it. 

Looking around for places to eat, her eyes fell upon Scrooge McDuck’s ice cream stand. The children of the town of course took notice of the owner’s peculiar appearance, but they took it in stride. All that mattered to them was the ice cream. Kairi especially loved ice cream; and she was certain to not miss the stand, especially when the duck himself stepped out to act as barker for his own shop.

“Ice cream!” He yelled out in his unmistakably thick accent, “Come get’chur sweet frozen fortune! On this fine, swelterin’ summer day we've got Snow Bears, Spark Lemons, Milky Way, and Vanilla Glitz!”

Sure enough, the little one leapt up in excitement and tugged at her sitter’s hand. “Ascilia! Can we get some, pretty please?”

“Alright, alright.” The babysitter pulled out a munny pouch and walked to the stand. “Excuse us, Mister McDuck, we'll just have two Sky Sugar bars.”

“Aye, somethin’ simple is fine too.” After a quick moment of rummaging through his freezer, Scrooge pulled out a pair of sky-pink ice cream bars. “And rum timing, ye got the last of ‘em. Enjoy, lassies!”

Not one minute later, the two girls were sitting together on a nearby bench, eating their sweet treats. Something orange flashed out of the corner of Ascilia’s eye. Looking up, she internally frowned to see the local troublemaker Lea swaggering around the corner with his constant companion Isa just behind him. Lea tossed some munny to the duck and said, “We'll have two Sea Salts!”

Isa crossed his arms, looking irritated. “Does it ever occur to you that there are other ice cream flavors in the world and that I might want them instead?”

“What? Of course I know, but what could you want besides Sea Salt?”

“Let me decide that. I'll have a Sky Sugar.”

Scrooge shook his head. “Sorry, lad, fresh out.”

Isa shot a displeased scowl at Ascilia and Kairi, before grumbling, “... Rrgh. Sea Salt is fine, then.”

“No need to look so disappointed, now,” the elderly duck consoled as he rummaged through his freezer. “Sea Salt ice cream is easily my most popular flavor, beloved even by Ansem the Wise himself!”

“I mean, yeah, but I can’t imagine eating it every day.”

“Speak for yourself,” Lea shot back with a grin. “If I could eat nothing but pizza and Sea Salt ice cream for the rest of my life, you know I’d go for it!”

“That’d be doable, if you’re not planning on ‘the rest of your life’ being a particularly long time.”

The two boys took the ice cream they bought, (Isa somewhat reluctantly) and leaned back on the wall next to Ascilia and Kairi. All four ate in silence until Lea frowned and wrinkled his nose. “Does anyone else smell something funky?”

Without missing a beat, Isa said in complete deadpan, “It was probably you. All this ice cream probably isn't doing your intestines any favors.”

Lea was about to make an indignant retort, when Ascilia said, “A fragrance that Mom’s testing. It's made with Celsettia Cosmos.”

He grimaced again, looking even more revolted. “ _ Fragrance? _ It smells like flowers growing outta someone’s sweaty pits.”

Lhaminn always taught Ascilia to not justify those types of comments with a response. But that didn’t stop her from acting out what she wanted to do to Lea’s spine by snapping her clean ice cream stick in half. “That’s why I said she’s testing it. I’ll let her know it wasn’t well-received with rude boys.”

“Aww, no lucky winner stick.” Kairi pouted, having finished her ice cream and finding her stick blank. 

“It's okay, Kairi, there's always next time. Here, I'll take your trash.”

While Ascilia got up to find a trash can, Lea moved in on the unattended girl. With a devious-yet-charming grin, he leaned in close and asked, “Hey, kid, you got a sec?”

Innocent little Kairi suspected nothing. “Sure.”

Sitting himself down beside her, Lea went on. “My buddy and I need some help; there's something going on in the castle that we wanna see for ourselves, but we can't get in.”

“I thought the castle was free for everyone?”

“That's just the library, we're tryin’ to get to somewhere way more secret. It’s supposed to be on on a need-to-know basis. But since you're in on the plan now, I guess you do need to know at least a little. You know Merlin, that weird wizard-looking guy in blue who lives down at the borough?”

“Yeah, his beard is super-soft! But his owl yelled at me when I tried to play with him.”

“Well, Isa and I are trying to get in because that’s where he teaches magic to the King’s apprentices! Which is super-cool, right?”

“Magic? Really?”

“Yeah! Like wind or fire or ice powers! But when we tried to ask him if he would teach us a few spells too, he said no.”

“Why?”

“I dunno, he gave us some crazy-long spiel about ‘great responsibility’ and junk until we couldn't take it anymore. But I don't care about responsibility, I just wanna shoot fire with my mind!”

Kairi tilted her head to the other boy. “What about you, Isa?”

Isa was about to answer, but Lea cut in. “He wants to ‘get stronger when he’s standing in the moonlight.’ His words.”

The frown on Isa’s face only deepened. “It's called  _ ‘lunar empowerment _ .’ Get it right.”

Lea rolled his eyes, and even Kairi quizzically canted her head. “That sounds cool, but can Mister Merlin teach that?”

“Okay, okay, it's not a perfect plan,” Lea grumbled, exasperated at the unexpected difficulty of convincing a four-year-old. “But it's better than sitting around and doing nothing. So, what do you say, kiddo? Wanna help us get in and get a free magic lesson?”

 

Meanwhile, Ascilia had disposed of the ice cream sticks, and decided to strike up a conversation with the shop owner about something that had been on her mind all day since hearing the story. Politely, but purposefully, she asked, “Mister Scrooge? Where are you from?”

It was an innocent question, but she anticipated his exact reaction. Scrooge flinched, but pulled a pained, toothy grin and tugged at his collar, stammering out, “W-well, uh. Why do ye ask, lassie?”

“Just curious, sir.”

The duck authoritatively pointed with his cane at her, “Ye’ve heard the phrase, I’ve trust: ‘Curiosity killed the cat.’”

She hadn’t just heard the phrase, she knew the whole phrase. “But satisfaction brought it back.”

Scrooge opened his beak and lifted an index feather to argue further, but came up short. “Alright, lass, I’ll tell ye. I'm…” The duck hesitated. “I hail from the town of Duckburg.”

“Scrooge McDuck of Duckburg?”

“... Aye.”

“And is that anywhere near Radiant Garden?”

“... Ye know, don't ye.”

“It's kind of easy to tell you aren't from around here.” As if just to illustrate her point, a line of non-anthropomorphic ducks and ducklings waddled past them. “But if it weren’t for an old story I heard earlier today, I never would have guessed just how far you are from home…”

“I  _ am _ from Duckburg, so I didn’t lie. But it’s just one settlement in my home world of Disney Town.” Scrooge looked around to see if anyone else was listening. “I try not to make a habit out o’ tellin’ people. It alienates them. Drives away customers. What's more, I'm not allowed to tell anyone directly, no matter ‘ow we stand out.”

“But we still have stories about other worlds, so why not tell them?”

“If people knew for sure that other worlds were out there, then they would all want to go! But it's not the easiest thing, hoppin’ ‘round all willy-nilly! I only got here because I convinced Merlin to bring me along.”

“Wait, you mean that old man with the beard and weird hat? That Merlin?”

“The very same.”

“He can travel the worlds freely, and he brought you along? How did you convince him?”

“Because unlike a certain pair of numpties I could name, I didn’t nod off in the middle of the old loon’s bletherin’!” He chortled to himself. “But in all seriousness, I promised Merlin that I would use this rare opportunity to be a force for good. So that actually was a great help in deciding what to sell in other worlds: something that brings universal joy. And what brings more joy to children than ice cream?”

Ascilia could think of one thing. “Perhaps…  _ Free _ ice cream?”

Unfortunately, Scrooge was not having it. “Nice try, lassie, but a duck’s got to make a buck.”

“Mom says that a good deed is its own reward.”

“True, but the ice cream is still cheap enough that they keep coming back for more, so they get more smiles, and I get more munny!” And seeing the incredulous look he was being given in response, the duck added, “Aye, munny may be the more tangible reward, but don't underestimate the power of sharin’ some ice cream. Take those two boys, Lea and Isa; they come around here and order ice cream for themselves near every day and as often as the lads bicker and butt heads, they're still thick as thieves.” 

Sharing ice cream together every day, huh…

Glancing over his shoulder, Scrooge did a double take and looked back to Ascilia. “And speaking of thieves; don't look now, but they're making off with the wee bairn.”

“The what?”

Scrooge pointed back to the bench, and there was Isa and Lea, walking away with Kairi in tow. Ascilia had been so engrossed in the conversation that she didn’t even notice…! She leapt up and sprinted forward to catch up.

“ _ Leaaaa! _ ”

That was the only warning the boys were given before Ascilia full-body slammed Lea, knocking him onto his side. She put the redheaded boy into a headlock, shouting into his ear, “Just what do you think you’re doing?!”

Lea wrenched himself free and rolled away to a safe distance, rubbing his aching neck. “Owowowow… Didn't your smelly mom tell you it's not okay to hit?”

“Yes, but she  _ also _ told me to fight back when a boy tries  _ starting something! _ ”

Lea stood up and leaned forward to Ascilia’s eye level, glowering at her. “Start  _ what _ ? We’re trying to make friends with the kid!”

The tough act didn't last long once she reached up and pinched his ear. “You're not acting very friendly! Whatever you’re trying to get Kairi to do, I won’t let you!”

“She wanted to go with us, so chill! Lemme go, dangit!” He shoved her away, putting a few steps of distance between them. Then his confident air saw fit to return, Lea crossing his arms and looking down his nose. “And as for what we’ve got planned, I was literally just explaining that to the kid, I’m not gonna repeat myself--”

Unluckily for Lea, Kairi was willing to repeat it for him. “We’re gonna sneak into the castle and listen to Merlin’s magic lessons!”

“K-Kairi, are you kidding me?” He sputtered, eliciting an amused smirk from both Ascilia and Isa. “Don’t tattle on us to your babysitter!”

The older girl was having none of that. “It looks like you need a babysitter too!”

Isa could only shrug. “I gave up on trying to get him to listen.”

“Isa,  _ seriously _ ?”

“Either way,” Ascilia scolded, thrusting a threatening finger into his face, “you’re not dragging Kairi into your crazy schemes, so don’t even try it.”

“Alright already, I'm going! Geez Louise, did I press the wrong buttons on this girl…” Lea groused, scratching the back of his head and sulking off with Isa right behind him. Ascilia turned away, expecting that to be the end of it, until he called back, “But you'll be eating those words like that ice cream when I'm a pyromancer and Isa’s a werewolf!”

Isa made a frustrated noise. “Lea, for the last time, I'm  _ not  _ planning on becoming a werewolf!”

“You like dogs more than people and you want to have moon powers. Sure, totally no connection to werewolves at all.”

Ascilia huffed one last time at their backs, as if to punctuate her righteous anger with them. And once said anger had quelled itself, she knelt down to the intended kidnapee and ruffled her auburn hair. “Sorry things got physical there, Kairi. But try not to wander off, especially with shady older boys like those two, okay?”

“But… they were telling the truth. I did want to go with them.”

“You did? Why? You should know those two are troublemakers.”

“I wanna learn magic and go on adventures to other worlds too! Like Aqua!” Kairi’s big blue eyes grew wide and earnest, the child clasping her hands and standing on her tiptoes. “Can’t I go? Pleeeease, Ascilia?”

Ascilia stayed silent for a moment, trying to think of what likely would have been a half-baked response. Her lips nearly formed words when Mr. McDuck interjected, “Now wait just a tick, did ye mention Aqua? And is it the same Aqua I'm thinkin’ about? Tall lass, unusual sword, blue hair?”

The salesman stepped away from his stand again, and Kairi motioned in surprise, “You met her too? Aqua saved me when those mean blue monsters were still running around!”

“Aye, that sounds just like the one I met. Only had the pleasure o’ speakin’ to her once or twice, but one finds it difficult to forget her. But if ye’re citing her as a reason to argue that travelin’ between the worlds is a simple business, I'm afraid I've some bad news.”

Immediately sensing that hearing this bad news would be upsetting to Kairi, Ascilia’s first instinct was to decline hearing it. But at the same time, not knowing and being left to wonder and worry would potentially be worse. “What is it?”

“Aqua had herself a special method of gettin’ ‘round, she did. To put it in the simplest terms, she’d use magic to don a shiny suit of armor, transform that weapon of hers into a vehicle, and fly off on top of it. Quite the impressive sight, if I do say so meself.” He paused a short moment, casting an expectant eye towards the girls, as if expecting them to agree with him; but neither had seen Aqua’s takeoff for themselves. So he cleared his throat. “Anyroad, I woke up one mornin’ a short time after her departure, and saw Ansem the Wise and two o’ his personal guards in the town square; and I noticed one o’ them was carryin’ Miss Aqua’s personal effects. Namely, her empty suit of armor, and the ‘key’ she used to travel. But the lass herself was nowhere to be found… So wherever she’s gone now, she’ll be stuck there without her key.”

Ascilia wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but it certainly wasn't that. She was already surprised that someone else was able to corroborate the story of the mysterious Aqua, but… what could she say to this? Looking at Kairi, the poor girl looked so crestfallen to learn that her rescuer might not ever come back. “Kairi…”

But then, pursing her lips and stomping her foot, Kairi exclaimed, “Oooh, now I just wanna get into the castle even more! If they have Aqua’s stuff, she might come back to look for it!”

Just as Ascilia was about to say something, she heard a strange, distant noise, like a ‘ _ pop _ ’. She frowned and looked around for whatever might have caused it, and she had to ask to make sure she wasn’t just imagining it, “Did either of you hear that…?”

Kairi nodded, and then pointed up to the sky with a gasp, “Ah, look!” Following her gaze, Ascilia looked up to see a spark of light like a star, and a tiny speck of red emerged from it. And the smaller girl immediately cried out, “It’s a UFO!” 

“I… can’t really argue with that.”

“What in the Dickens…?” Scrooge squinted his eyes to follow the path of the UFO as it drew closer, the details becoming more discernable: a sort of vessel, painted in saturated colors. “Hold on, is that a Gummi Ship I see? And  _ The Kingdom _ at that! But what's she doin’ here? Moreover, where’s she goin’ to  _ land? _ ”

And as if on cue, the red ship’s flight path became erratic, swerving back and forth until falling into a nosedive and tailspinning down towards the castle; for a tense few seconds Ascilia feared the worst, until--

The ship crashed directly behind Hollow Bastion’s gates.

Staring in silence for a few seconds, Ascilia blinked, and said, “I guess that’s where.”

Mr. McDuck, however, grimaced, and buried his face in his wing-hand, grumbling, “Och, I’d recognize that crashing anywhere…”

The sound of the impact had already drawn some onlookers, both children and adults emerging from their homes and heading towards the square to investigate the noise. “What was that?”

“A spaceship crashed by the castle!”

“Aliens are invading!”

Kairi ran ahead, waving for the others to follow. “Let’s go see!” 

Hurrying along to keep up, Ascilia looked back to the duck and saw him in not quite as much of a rush. “You know who was driving that ship, don’t you, Mister Scrooge? Then they might be hurt!”

Scrooge, on the other hand, seemed less concerned and more exasperated. He followed after them all the same. “If that’s who I think it is, he’s survived plenty worse crashes than that. And I mean to give him a piece of my mind...”

 

Ascilia, Kairi, and Scrooge arrived to find a small crowd of curious citizens already gathered in the square, huddled in front of the gate. Never one to be deterred, Kairi ducked down and dove under their legs.The people who noticed the smaller girl did move out of her way to avoid stepping on the four-year-old crawling around underfoot. Her babysitter and the ice cream salesman followed through the resulting gap in the crowd. 

Defending the gate was a tall, grizzled Guardian with messy hair and a five o’clock shadow. Ascilia didn’t recognize his face, but she noticed that his uniform seemed more detailed than the ones she saw on all the others, noting the small dagger sitting on his belt. He spoke, projecting loudly over the many voices questioning what was going on. “Everyone,  _ everyone!  _ I know, I know, this is all  _ very  _ exciting and you all want to know what's going on, but it's the Radiant Guardians’ jobs to figure that out first! So for your own safety, I ask that you all  _ keep your distance! _ ”

Before Ascilia could stop her, Kairi ran right up to the Guardian and tugged on his pants leg to get his attention. “Mister Nyx! What happened?”

But he took it in stride, answering her directly. “Still tryin’ to figure that out ourselves, kiddo. And it’s  _ Captain Ulric _ while I’m on duty. No one out here was hurt, thankfully, but we’ve got no clue about what’s inside. It might be dangerous, so leave it to us, okay?”

Looking past ‘Captain Ulric’ and the bars of the gate, Ascilia could see the red UFO laying lopsided on the narrow staircase leading up to the castle courtyard. Two Guardians were inspecting the wreck (actually, the ship didn’t seem to be damaged at all) and checking for signs of life. The rounded dome of frosted glass on the top of it seemed to be the cockpit, so all eyes watched it carefully. Strange shadows moved about inside, and when the cockpit opened, out came…

A duck? No, it was another man-duck like Mister Scrooge. But this one was more human-sized and man-like, right down to wearing pants. For that matter, he was wearing an entire old-timey pilot’s ensemble, right down to the cap and goggles. He looked in a daze  at his surroundings, bewildered and confused, until he looked directly at Scrooge. At which point he broke into a smile, gleefully waving with his entire arm. 

_ “Heeey!” _ The man-duck pilot called down at full volume. “Is that you, Mister McDee? Long time, no see!”

All eyes turned to ‘Mister McDee,’ by all accounts looking somewhere between mortified, disgruntled, and unsurprised. Ascilia pointed out, “So you  _ do _ know that pilot.”

Massaging his feathery temples, he growled, “Regrettably, yes…”

Stumbling out of the cockpit, the pilot gave a rather sheepish smile to the crowd, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. “Oh, uh, he-hey everyone! Sorry about crashing into your stairs, this doesn’t normally happen. We, uh, come in peace, and all that good stuff. Can you, uh, take us to your leader?”

Scrooge had apparently had enough, stomping past the guard, sticking his cane through the gate bars and waving it in outrage, he shouted, “LAUNCHPAD MCQUACK, YE BLOOMIN’ USELESS BIRDBRAINED  _ BLOCKHEAD! _ WHO LET YE FLY A GUMMI SHIP?!”

In dismay, the pilot (whose name was apparently Launchpad? Rather on the nose, Ascilia thought.) called back down, “The king said it was okay! He’s right here, you can ask him yourself!”

This did not deter Scrooge from his rant, “OH, AND AS IF CRASHING THE KINGDOM WEREN’T ENOUGH! YE HAD TO CRASH IT WITH  _ THE KING HIMSELF  _ ON BOARD!”

“It’s okay, I’m okay!” A new falsetto voice came from the downed, lopsided ship. Climbing out of the cockpit was the source of the voice: a tiny, mouse-like creature rather conspicuously sporting a set of perfectly rounded ears. He blinked, and faced the crowd past the gate, at which point his shoulders slumped in defeat. “… Welp, guess our cover’s blown. Aw, Yen Sid is gonna kill me...”

While the rest of the crowd stared at this strange scene in total bewilderment, Kairi gasped, and squealed out in unbridled delight, “It’s him, Ascilia, look, it’s him! There he is! That’s the mouse-man!”

Ascilia couldn’t hide her shock; she had completely forgotten about the talking mouse from Kairi’s story. But in hindsight, she should have made the connection between that and the ice cream-selling duck man…

Excitedly the smaller girl waved up to the mouse, calling out as loud as she could, “MISTER MOUSE-MAAAAN! IT’S ME, KAIRI!” 

The mouse looked down in confusion to see who was calling for him, and his expression lit up with pleasant surprise, clearly recognizing the girl and waving back. “Oh, hiya down there, Kairi! Good to see ya again!”

Not realizing that she didn’t have to shout anymore, Kairi continued, “I TOLD MY FRIEND ABOUT THE TIME YOU AND AQUA SAVED ME! DO YOU KNOW WHERE SHE IS?”

At the mention of Aqua, his shoulders drooped, cheerful expression falling and giving way to one of regret. “I…” He shook his head. “I wish I knew. Sorry, Kairi…”

While this exchange went on, a small host of guards arrived and surrounded the ship. Seeing this, Captain Ulric unsheathed a dagger and tossed it through the bars of the gate; he disappeared in a flash of light, and then reappeared on the other side, the dagger back in his hand. Facing the crowd, he called out, “Alright, everyone, I know you folks are curious about just what the hey is going on here, and believe me, we are too. So that’s why we’re gonna just take this mysterious ship inside and have a little chat with the drivers. Meaning that everyone on your side of the gates oughta just go home and leave it to us--”

At once, raucous cries rang out, mostly from the younger members of the crowd. “Aww, c’mon, let us see the aliens!” “Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!” “Boooooo!”

Nyx shrugged. “Probably shoulda seen that response coming, but that’s the way it is.” Dismissively he waved as he ran up the stairs back to the fallen ship, where the Radiant Guardians lifted it with surprising ease. The mouse, still sitting in the opened cockpit, waved nervously to the crowd as he was carried away with it. The duck pilot, meanwhile, protested the whole while as the captain grabbed the back of his coat and forcefully pulled him along. “Meanwhile,  _ you, _ Mister  _ Quack _ Pilot, have some explaining to do.”

“Hey, hey, this is unnecessary! I already apologized for crashing! Lemme go!”

“You asked to be taken to our leader, didn’t you?”

The crowd behind the gate watched as the mysterious visitors all retreated out of view, left baffled and wondering what that whole spectacle was about, and what it meant for the town as a whole. 

And Ascilia stood there with them, until Kairi suddenly darted off towards the left path that led to the public gardens, and the elder girl followed. 

 

For such short legs, Kairi could run. Across the pavement, up the stairways, through the grass, to the side gates, Ascilia followed her. And she caught Kairi just as the smaller girl began scaling the bars. 

“Asciliaaaaa! Pleeeeaaase!” Kairi tried in vain to wriggle away from her babysitter, but her locked arms held firm. Before long she deflated, and muttered, “… Big bully.”

“My my, what  _ is _ all the fuss about today?”

Both girls looked up at the sound of a familiar voice; Kairi’s grandmother leisurely made her way down the stairs and exited the gate, casually pulling a rather irate Lea along by the ear, with a rather nonchalant Isa following close behind. 

“It wasn’t even the Guardians that caught us this time,” Isa shrugged, likely in response to Ascilia’s look of surprise. “I knew to go quietly, but Lea, well.”

The hot-headed teen grumbled in-between hissing in pain as he crab-walked behind his captor. “Friggin’ old lady–  _ Owwww… _ ”

“The nice Guardians asked so politely for all civilians to leave the castle, so I informed these boys who were trying to sneak in, and this one thought he was, in his own words, ‘too cool for rules.’” Another growl from Lea. “But what is going on out here?”

“Grandmaaaaa, ‘scilia’s being meeeean!” Kairi complained, still trying to wiggle out of Ascilia’s arms. “She won’t let me have any fun!”

“Oh? Is that so?” The grandmother canted her head as the gate closed behind her, and she finally released Lea’s ear. “Was it by any chance the same sort of ‘fun’ these rascals were trying to get into?”

Ascilia let Kairi go as well, and the smaller girl nodded with a pout, looking down and clutching the hem of her dress. “It stinks. All the cool and fun stuff always happens where I’m not.”

“What do you mean?”

“Merlin’s magic lessons. Aqua and Mouse-man and Mister Scrooge getting to go to other worlds. Now, too, can’t even go into the castle to see anything.” Kneeling down to her eye level, Ascilia could see Kairi’s eyes welling up. “ _ It stinks… _ ”

No one spoke for several moments, with the only sounds being that of Kairi sniffling, and the boys’ scuffling away from they awkward situation. 

“ _... It’s a dangerous business, little one, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.” _

Both girls looked at Kairi’s grandmother in confusion. The old woman chortled at the looks she’d received, and clarified, “Oh no, I’m sorry. That was a passage from an old book, I was just reminded of it.” With a hand on Kairi’s shoulder, she went on, “I’m afraid some of the adventures you’re looking for are just a bit too big for you at the moment.”

“B-but!  _ Grandmaaaaa!” _

“Only for right now. I hope you never lose your sense of curiosity and adventure; but at the same time, be sure to look before you leap. Life is hard to predict, Kairi, and if you’re not careful, then before you know it, you could be lost in a completely different world, all alone and with no way of getting home.”

For another long moment, Kairi could only stare wide-eyed, and then droop, dejectedly bowing her head. “Sorry…”

“Whatever might be going on in that castle at this very moment, I’m sure it’s quite exciting, but in my experience, it’s always better to start small with your adventures if you can. Do you understand, Kairi?”

“I guess…” Scuffing her toe, she asked, “What kinda adventures are small, though?”

“Perhaps… Sometime soon we can go camping in the mountains with Ascilia and her family. Would you two like that?”

Ascilia noticed that Kairi didn’t look wholly convinced, so she said, “Yeah, that sounds great. I know it’s no magic lesson or run-in with aliens, but maybe in the mountains we can look for more of those shooting stars that fell from the sky last month!”

And that immediately brought the excitement back to Kairi’s face. “Oh!” She cried out, “I forgot about those!”

“So that’s a yes to camping?”

“Yeah!” Bouncing with enthusiasm, she took her grandmother by the hand and tugged. “C’mon, let’s go back! Ascilia needs to ask her momma, and we gotta pack! Hurry-hurry-hurry!”

“Ahaha, alright, alright dear, settle down, I’m hurrying!”

Watching the two make their way back down the garden stairs, Ascilia smiled in relief. Kairi had both curiosity and determination in spades, and that could sometimes lead to her having a nose for trouble. But admittedly, this time it was hard to blame her. Ascilia lingered by the gate, gazing up to Hollow Bastion, wondering about all the mysteries surrounding it lately.

The experiments of the heart that took her father and nineteen other people. The stars disappearing. The magic tutoring given to its guards. And now, these cartoonish aliens and their red ship crashing on its doorstep…

Was it all connected somehow?


End file.
